- Safiu Kehinde
A group of Nigerian Media Executives have at the weekend sought mechanisms against use of the media outlets for the dissemination of fake news by politicians.
Speakers at an online event in commemoration of World Press Freedom Day deliberated over the increasing cases of desperate politicians creating falsehoods to gain political advantages and using the media to spread them.
The event had the theme “Fake News, Political Agenda, and the Erosion of Public Trust in the Media” held at the X Space and was hosted by NPO Reports.
Mr. Kolapo Olapoju, the Editor of the Cable, decried the spate of fake news.
The editor, in his overview of the topic, claimed that there are forces behind the spread of fake news.
However, Olapoju blamed the media for not being responsible in its reportage as he stressed that the industry is dealing with significant issue of trust deficit.
“Globally the scourge of fake news is extremely rampant.
“There are lots of people behind the screen puling the strings,
“We are dealing with a serious significant trust deficit. There is issue of fake news there, but the media itself have not been very responsible in its reportage.
“We’ve allowed a lot of quacks to come into the space and drown out those doing important works,” Olapoju said.
In alignment with Olapoju’s argument, Dr. Bisi Deji-Folutile, the Editor-in-Chief of Frank Talk Now (FTN), admitted that there are people behind the spread of misinformation.
Deji-Folutile held that today’s media are controlled by economic and political powers that influence editorial contents.
She reiterated that fake news in Nigerian media space today are controlled from somewhere.
“There are people behind the scene responsible for most of misinformation. Media are cultural influencers. Because of the influence, it has the capacity to influence the opinion of the public.
“Whatever you see coming from the media are controlled by the economic powers and political powers over the time. Over the years, these political and economic power have had control over the media.
“There is hardly anything that is fake the you find in the Nigerian media space today that is not controlled from somewhere. Fake news and misinformation don’t just come into the space,” She said.
While recognising the efforts of fact-checkers in tackling fake news which had led to several discoveries, including misinformation in government’s press releases, Deji-Folutile maintained that the political elites will always need the media to amplify their messages.
These messages, according to her, are mostly self-motivated.
“The question is how do we regulate the power that churn out misinformation through the media?
“These days we do a lot of fact- checks and realized that things that come out of government through Press releases turn out to be misinformation.
“The truth is the political elite will always need the media to amplify their messages. It will be nice if the messages are straightforward. But naturally we amplify message that soothe our purposes.” She added.
Speaking, Mr. Dotun Oladipo, the Editor-in-Chief of The Eagles Online said there is an improvement in the level of trust Nigerians have in the media.
The former President of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers said 65 percent trust from Nigerians regarding its credibility in 2025 which was higher than in 2024 where it recorded 61 percent level of trust.
However, Oladipo held that there must be first a clear demarcation between citizen journalists and trained journalists.
“Over time, the perception of Nigerians as per the media appears to be improving. The media has 65 percent trust from Nigerians. Last year it was 61 percent.
“People are beginning to have the capacity to separate real journalists from those who spread false and fake news.
“As we are moving ahead, Nigerians will get to a position and say, okay if I need news, where do I go?”
“We cannot lump citizen journalists with those who are professionals as they don’t belong anywhere.
“There must be a clear demarcation between citizen journalists and trained journalists.” He said.
While stressing that the public is gradually development the ability to discern real journalists from fake news peddlers, Oladipo decried the dearth of graduates interested in journalism.
“Like Kolapo said, it’s easier now to track information through fact checking.
“What we have learnt over time is that people coming out of school now are ill-equipped with no experience at all. They don’t want to stay. He said.
Oladipo warned of the extinction of editors which may mark the end of journalism.
“I have been saying this for the past 10 years that once the current crop of people especially editors fade out, that may spell the end of journalism” he said.
Speaking on the need for laws in tackling fake news, Akinbode Oluwafemi, founder of Corporate Accountability And Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), said there are shortage of laws addressing fake news in the country.
Oluwafemi, who was represented by CAPPA’s.Assistant Director, Zikora Ibeh, called for reinforcement of accountability mechanism.
“One question we need to as ourselves, I don’t think we have shortage of laws in this country. There are abundance of laws. And inside these regulations, we have laws addressing fake news. But is it that those laws are not enough?
“We have to reinforce our accountability mechanism. The public institutions have to release factual information. They have to be accessible,” He said.
However, Deji-Folutile raised concerns over the journalists’ challenge of getting real news labelled fake by politicians.
While sharing her experience, Deji-Folutile disclosed the extent at which some public office holders go in demeaning genuine stories that affect them.
“Those who tag your report as fake news will be part of those pushing it as fake news. These powers have financial strength to rubbish the report.
“I have seen cases where these people book advert spaces where they push your stories as fake,” She said.
The editor suggested promotion of fact-checking and digital literacy as part of the efforts to curb fake news.
“We should aim at promoting digital literacy. We should also promote fact checking literacy. We need to enforce all ethical standards.” She added.
The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Media, Hon. Akin Rotimi, decried the alarming rate at which fake news get spread.
In his overview of the topic of discourse, the lawmaker affirmed that fake news is a tool designed to mislead and manipulate public biases.
“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.
In his opening remarks, Publisher of the NPO Reports, Semiu Okanlawon, said media house managers cannot afford to abdicate their responsibilities and allow fake news merchants take over for their selfish political agendas.
“We all recognise the irreplaceable roles that journalism plays in the defence of democracy, transparency, and human rights.
Sadly, we have to come to terms with the reality that fake news syndrome constitutes a great impediment to the realisations of the objectives of the media.
Fake news has suddenly become a tool in the hands of political manipulators and merchants. The manipulation of the media for the personal agendas of the merchants are on an alarming rise. The result is the erosion of members of the public in the trust they have for the media,” Okanlawon said