The saying that `information is power’ remains one of the greatest tributes ever paid to information, its many champions and the multitude of channels through which they disseminate information. The Press remains a formidable force in this wise and,arguably, one of the most important pivots of democracy. However, wherever there is a life, death is not far away.
Because they do their homework, those who seed chaos, those who fan the embers of conflict, know, perhaps more than others, just how powerful information. They also know that when information is inverted, when information becomes disinformation, it is not just exceedingly powerful, but devastating.
Because they act like pollinators of some sort, collecting the pollens of conflict and chaos from one place and spreading them to other places as part of some perverse pollination, those who spread fake news and disinformation are as dangerous as they come. And those who build peace in communities know this. They know that as long as those who deliberately deal disinformation remain hard at work, furiously spinning the threads of falsehood at the wheels of destabilization, genuine peace will remain a long shot.
With access to mainstream media limited by the ethics of good journalism, and suffocating government regulations, the social media has become the dream space of some of those whose life work is devising and designing endless methods of toying with people`s minds.
The dizzying daze of disinformation is only matched by the gale of gullibility grinding down the garrisons of those who should know better but inexplicably do not, including some of those who are enlightened.
There is also the darkness that ironically envelops so many on social media even when their devices emit so much light. That darkness beclouds judgment and convinces people to put their faith in falsehood and in outrage.
If it was just the conviction, it would be manageable. Problem is that the conviction often drives people to believe absurdities, live mendaciously and act on them to do unimaginable things to themselves and others. With the twisting of information this way and that, a trickle quickly becomes a flood of tears.
Disinformation is a subset of propaganda and is false information that is spread deliberately to deceive. It is sometimes confused with misinformation which is false information but is not deliberate. Disinformation has long been recognized as a quick and fairly cheap way to destabilize societies and set the stage for potential military action.
Walking hand in hand with disinformation is fake news which is false or misleading information presented as news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person or entity, or making money through advertising revenue. Fake news and disinformation which ultimately fall under false information are dangerous because of their ability to affect public opinion and electoral discourse.
With Nigeria battling virulent terrorism that has many asking all manner of questions about the viability of the country as one entity, it has become more important than ever to fight disinformation and fake news. This is especially in recognition of the fact that the constitutional right to freedom of expression is not at all absolute but is necessarily checked in the greater interest of public good.
These limits necessarily placed on the right to freedom of expression in Nigeria have long been recognized as absolutely necessary to protect citizens from the deliberate distortion that disinformation breeds so that being properly informed they can take only the best decisions for themselves for the good of their families and the country.
The social media in Nigeria has especially become one huge hive of heinous disinformation and fake news. There have been attempts at legislation supposedly aimed at reining in the destructive tendencies of those who would destabilize the society through social media. But the outcry has always been great given the provenance of such proposed legislations and the intentions of those who champion them. The ruckus the hate speech law currently in operation continues to generate is a case in point.
The anxiety that the Federal Government has always felt about fake news and disinformation was recently echoed when President Muhammadu Buhari commemorated the World Press Day celebrated on May 3,2022 by warning the media against carrying sponsored political reports and stories ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The government which has always harped on the need to check fake news and disinformation has a point in that wise even if there are many who think that it is just as deeply uncomfortable with the mechanics of free speech as it is with Nigerians who fully and freely express themselves
However, Nigerians must recognize who their enemies truly are and having recognized that, they must work towards rendering them irrelevant. If only startling gullibility would allow, Nigerians would know to go through everything wrapped as news or information with a fine tooth comb and strenuously question the source of everything especially on social media.
The government may not always be able to regulate every space and should not. But, on their own part, citizens must see the fight against fake news and disinformation as part of their civic responsibilities. This is an important part of the fight against insecurity and destabilization for all that glitters is not always gold.
Kene Obiezu,
keneobiezu@gmail.com
