TwoCents | Lie to Me - by Samuel Ibok

You will agree with me that there are serious issues in Nigeria, including gender discrimination, severe poverty, poor infrastructure, threats of secession, and poor infrastructure. Beyond this, there is one issue people overlook: fake news. Fake news is neither bad news nor good news, it's just fake news! It implies sharing content that is composed with the intent of tricking and misleading individuals into believing it is true. Fake news is a global issue, and its spread has been aided by the revolution in information and communication technologies (ICT). The various social media platforms that are in existence make it easy to spread information. In other words, millions of people can access fake news in a matter of seconds, and that is very dangerous. Social media is basically the fourth arm of government, with the capacity to even topple governments. People react to information in different ways. So imagine if people from a particular tribe are wrongly accused of killing people from another tribe. Those who feel they are the victims may not think twice about investigating the issue. They may just pick up arms and start killing themselves. Remember the xenophobic attacks of 2019? There was a lot of news online about people being killed in various parts of South Africa. The numbers were inflated deliberately, and the response was more killing. During the ebola outbreak, some people claimed that using salt would keep them safe from the virus. Sometimes the information about law enforcement is a big lie. Yeah, they are not the greatest, but sometimes it is all a big lie. I believe that spreading false news constitutes a type of social currency. It's really crazy, and people tend to spread the news because they feel it is their civic responsibility. Fake news won't end. However, I guess it's high time we did ourselves a favor by investigating the source and content of the news. Fake news can be used as an instrument to cause confusion and conflict. There is a need to inform people of the potential danger of spreading unverified messages. I know government regulation of news seems like an infringement on the freedom of speech, but something has to be done. These true lies can lead to death. It's time for a swerve. People spread this false news so they can gain clout. Yeah, clout chasing is the new oil, and people have been cashing out. But what's the point of making money off deceit? Be like body de pepper you and you wan collect woto woto. Appearance is not reality.

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