Like many other countries worldwide, Nigeria has had its own share of struggle to overcome the spread of fake news.
The West African country will hold its presidential election on Saturday, 23 February. In the run up to that poll, social media has become increasingly important, not just for candidates and their supporters, but for the elections commission too.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has embraced the use of social media to disseminate information, and to provide verifications regarding any election news.
Over 84 million Nigerians are registered to vote in Saturday’s elections, and a sizable number of that are the youth. INEC’s decision to embrace social media has therefore been very important in keeping them informed about the electoral process and any arising issues.
Earlier this month for instance, some media outlets reported that an INEC official had been offered a $1 million bribe by one of the presidential candidates. INEC however came out to reject the allegations, terming them as fake news.
Social media has played a key role in the authority’s quest to provide prompt and true information to Nigerians.
To get a feel of what Nigerians think of INEC’s performance on social media, CGTN sought insights from a Nigerian Communications Consultant and Digital Media Specialist Andy Madaki. Here’s what he had to say;
