- Safiu Kehinde
Nigerian lawmaker, Rep. Akin Rotimi, Jr. has expressed concerns over the current trend of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the spread of fake news.
The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Media held that AI is used in accelerating the widespread of fake news at a faster and worrisome rate.
Rotimi made this known while speaking during a panel discussion on X Space hosted by NPO Reports on Saturday in commemoration of the World Press Freedom Day.
In his overview of the topic of discourse “Fake News, Political Agenda, and the Erosion of Public Trust in the Media,” the lawmaker said fake news is not a mere buzz word but a tool designed to mislead and manipulate public biases.
He noted the alarming rate at which fake news get spread.
“Fake news is not merely a buzz word. It is designed to misleading, manipulate our public biases.
“Citizens now consume news with a default skepticism,
“Artificial Intelligence has accelerated the dissemination of fake news. Falsehood now travels faster, wider, and deeper than before.” He said.
On solution to tackle the spread of fake news, Rotimi maintained that media institutions and regulatory bodies take most responsibility in curbing fake news through self-regulation as he warned against leaving the responsibility in the hands of government.
“Freedom without responsibility is anarchy, journalism without ethics is propaganda,
“In any society, if you leave it to government, it will always be skewed,
“It is always better for media to self-regulate.” He said.
The lawmaker also harped on the need for media gatekeepers to checkmate the excesses of journalists and coordinate the nomenclature of the profession.
“Many times when journalists publish stories without any recourse. Why is it only when journalists are picked up that we hear the gatekeepers?
“The gatekeepers and organizations that regulate the practice still have greater responsibility.
“It has become a common place for politicians to use the media. So, where is the push back from the media themselves.
“In seven decades of Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), there have been very scanty instances where you rigged an journalist in.
“Anybody now can open a platform and publishes anything these days without recourse,
“The onus is on the practitioners and industry to retake your high ground as moral safeguard.” He said.
Other speakers at the session include the Editor of the Cable, Kolapo Olapoju; Executive Director of the International Press Centre, Lanre Arogundade; Editor-in-Chief of The Eagle Online, Dotun Oladipo; founder of Cooperate Accountability & Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Akinbode Oluwafemi, and the Editor-in-Chief of Frank Talk now.