PREMIUM TIMES PARTNERS CENTRE FOR DEMOCRACY TO TACKLE FAKE NEWS
Kadaria further pointed out that, any form of bill by the government to regulate the media will be resisted,“we are not afraid of regulation, we are wary of government regulation. Our democracy has not reached the stage where people can be able to detach themselves from their individual interest’.
‘Every government we have seen from the beginning of our democracy have done a number of things to project themselves while in office not in the interest of the average Nigerians. Therefore we will not agree that they have our interest at heart, when they said that they want to regulate the media. Where we are today, the free press, functional and credible media is the biggest defense we have against fake news and tyrannical governments.”
Similarly, Tolu Ogunlesi, Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Digital/New Media; said the first step in tackling fake news is to douse the human elements and biases that appeal to fake information.
He said, “Purveyors of fake news understand certain sentiments that appeal to a particular public. It can be religious, tribal or political and they use this to penetrate people with fake news.”
In her on contribution, Mrs Adaora Onyechere emphasised the need for the application of caution while tackling fake news so as not to muscle human rights.
Penpushing reports that, the event was chaired by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, and also in attendance include: Simon Kolawole, Publisher, CableNG; in its first panel discussion.
