FG Goes After Those Spreading Fake News & Hate Speech On Social Media

 

 

The Federal Government says it has commenced the process of injecting sanity into the Social Media space to prevent it from setting the nation on fire.

 

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

“We have written letters to the major stakeholders who would nominate representatives and we are going to sit down together to decide on how best to confront this menace,’’ he said.

 

The minister noted that the government had the responsibility to keep the country together, therefore, social media would not be left alone to destabilise the nation.

 

He said the government welcomed the debate that had followed the decision and announcement to sanitise the social media space and the airwaves.

 

“We are, however, glad that there are more people who believed that the social media poses imminent danger to the unity of Nigeri, especially as they have become merchants of fake news and hate speech,” he said.

 

The minister noted that those who had opposed the regulation of the social media had not denied the fact that the platform was being used by purveyors of fake news and hate speech with grave consequences.

“It must be put on record that Nigeria is not the only country that is doing something about this, Germany, Egypt, Russia, India and the UK are all doing something about regulating the social media platform,’’ he said.

 

Mohammwd expressed concern that the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and other media professional bodies, that were supposed to support the regulation were kicking against it.

 

“I am therefore, really surprised that such criticism is coming from them because they are the people we are protecting and they are the ones that will benefit the more from the government action,’’ he said.

 

The minister reiterated that no amount of criticism and opposition would stop regulation of the social media and the air waves.

 

“This is not just a menace to the government, many people have committed suicide because their reputation have been destroyed by the social media,’’ he said.

 

The minster reiterated that the government would neither gag the media nor stifle the freedom of speech in regulating the media platforms.

 

On the regulation of the media waves, Mohammed said he would receive recommendations on the implementation process in few days from the committee he recently inaugurated.

 

He said they had also received a lot of attacks from some critics that the intention was nothing but an attempt to gag the media and stifle free speech.

“Let me say once again that only those who are purveyors of fake news and hate speech have things to fear from these recommendations,’’ he said.

 

According to the minister, the regulation of both the social media and the airwaves is in the national interest.

 

(NAN)