As Nigeria prepares to install a new government next month, the chances are high that Africa’s largest economy could become the next major jurisdiction to conflagrate with domestic debates surrounding misinformation following a closely fought election.

Though Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) clearly declared Bola Tinubu the winner of February’s presidential poll, the two losing candidates have petitioned the court seeking to challenge Tinubu’s victory, citing voter irregularities, rigging intimidation and harassment.

In an interview with Voice of Africa’s Peter Clottey, Ajuri Ngelale, a spokesperson for the president-elect’s campaign team, said opposition groups use social media platforms to peddle “fake news” to citizens and the international community.

The topic of misinformation has been on the rise in Nigeria for same three reasons it has everywhere else. Many Nigerians now consume news and information through social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp, which are often inundated with false and misleading content.

The country’s political landscape has also been subject to increased polarisation, which has led to a rise in hate speech and divisive rhetoric. This has created a fertile ground for the spread of disinformation, as people are more likely to believe false information that reinforces their existing beliefs or prejudices.

A lack of trust in traditional Nigerian media outlets has also made it easier for politicians and other actors to spread false information without fear of being held accountable. Many Nigerians are skeptical of mainstream media and are more likely to believe information from sources they perceive as being more credible, such as friends or family members.

Perhaps most worryingly, the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence has brought about a force unrivaled in its ability to rapidly spread fake news.

Against this backdrop, countering disinformation is likely to become one of President Tinubu’s key communications challenges. Doing so successfully will require three things. Firstly, the staunch protection of a free press, which must involve the safeguarding of respected journalistic and academic institutions.

Secondly, a political culture which highlights and encourages severe scrutiny of individuals and organizations with proven records of spreading misinformation. And thirdly, the harnessing of AI itself to promote healthy information ecosystems.

Continuing free press progress

A free press is crucial to the functioning of any democracy, and this is especially true in Nigeria, which has a complex political and social landscape and long history of press censorship and harassment. Recent years have seen a wide array of positive developments however – such as the passage of the Freedom of Information Act in 2011 – which it will be incumbent upon President Tinubu to maintain. The legislation has enabled the media to play an increasingly active role in exposing corruption, human rights abuses, and other issues that might otherwise have been swept under the rug.

In 2015 for example, Premium Times, a Nigerian online newspaper, uncovered a massive corruption scandal involving the National Security Adviser at the time, Sambo Dasuki, who was accused of embezzling over $2 billion of public funds. The investigation led to his arrest and the recovery from him and his associates of huge sums of money, back to the treasury.

The Nigerian press has also grown into an increasingly important platform for diverse voices and perspectives. As a country with over 250 ethnic groups, the broad media landscape can help to amplify the voices of marginalized communities. The Guardian, for example, has emerged as a vocal champion for the rights of such groups and communities, serving to set a laudable example to less liberal African countries.

The growing availability of online journalism in the country has also enhanced the role played by the Nigerian press in educating the public on important issues. This is especially important in a country where many people are illiterate or have limited access to education. The Punch, one of Nigeria’s oldest and most widely read newspapers and with a robust online footprint, has a reputation for in-depth reporting on a wide range of issues, from politics to entertainment.

While the Nigerian media has made significant strides in recent years, there is still much work to be done by the new government to ensure that journalists are able to work without fear of censorship or harassment, and that the public has access to accurate, diverse, and independent news and information.

Public responsibility

While it will be the President’s task to maintain a free press, in a truly free county the task of discerning between real and fake news, and between valid media scrutiny and nefarious hidden agendas, can never fall entirely – if ever – on the government. It is the responsibility of both civil society, and an engaged and educated populace.

The President-elect is certainly no stranger to strong media scrutiny, or journalists with pointed agendas. Like all world leaders, he has learnt to weather blows from a long list of detractors throughout his political career, and heads of state always need to pick their battles wisely.

Dele Momodu, the publisher of the Ovation International magazine, has been a persistent critic of Mr. Tinubu’s political agenda in the past and accused him of trying to control the political landscape in Lagos State during his time as governor.

Many a political editor across the landscape of Nigerian newspapers have also been critical of his alleged influence within the All Progressives’ Congress (APC), the ruling party, and of his broader political ambitions. Samuel Ogundipe, the founder of Peoples Gazette and politics editor of Premium Times has written several critical articles about Tinubu’s alleged involvement in corruption scandals.

More recently, David Hundeyin, the founder of West Africa Weekly, has made allegations that the President-elect has been involved in drug trafficking and has committed perjury by virtue of holding a foreign passport. The freelancer – who had previously been disaffiliated by the Oxford University following a damning investigation into his questionable claims and work practices – had his Twitter account frozen and YouTube video taken down for violating Google’s terms of use. He has also been put on legal notice by NASCO Group, the manufacturing conglomerate, for republishing comprehesively debunked allegations without mentioning that its late founder was fully exonerated by both the United States Government and by the United Nations Security Council over 15 years ago, the fact of which is on public record.

While citizen journalism is always to be encouraged, there are few good substitutes for robust journalistic standards and the institutions that adhere to them. The broader population, like the President, can only exercise caution and critical discernment in dealing with coverage of their new government.

In 2019, false information was spread that the President Muhammadu Buhari, had died and been replaced by a clone from Sudan. This disinformation was spread on social media platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter, and it caused panic and confusion among huge segments of the populace.

In 2021, false information was spread that the Nigerian government had banned the use of Twitter in the country. This disinformation was spread on social media platforms, and it caused confusion and outrage among many Nigerians. While the government did suspend Twitter’s operations in the country, this was later lifted after several weeks.

With the rapid onset of AI, such hoaxes are only likely to become more prominent, and more visual. There will never be any silver bullet solutions for such hoaxes.

Leveraging artificial intelligence

Fortunately, however, generative AI can also be harnessed to promote healthy information ecosystems. Throughout the presidential election, the UK-based fact-checking organization Full Fact partnered with several African fact-checking agencies operating out of Nigeria.

Companies like Full Fact are continuing to offer their artificial intelligence suite — consisting of three tools that work in unison to automate lengthy fact-checking processes — to greatly expand factchecking capacity across the country.

“The tools are not intended to replace fact-checkers and the important work that they do,” said Kate Wilkinson, senior product manager at Full Fact. “Rather, they assist with time-consuming, manual monitoring and reviewing. This leaves fact-checkers more time to do the things they’re best at: understanding what’s important in public debate, interrogating claims, reviewing data, speaking with experts and sharing their findings.”

The three tools from Full Fact — search, alerts and live functions — work in real time to detect claims, alert fact-checkers when false claims are repeated, and instantly transcribe television or radio interviews (cross-referencing things said with existing fact checks).

“This means team members don’t have to allocate time to transcribe events or identify claims to fact-check,” Wilkinson said.

The scalable tools are of particular interest to fact-checking organizations in Nigeria, which — given the population of over 200 million (and a commensurate level of fake narratives) — can sometimes struggle to counter the sheer volume of misinformation they encounter.

Outlandish claims range in subject matter from false endorsements to cosmological events controlling the weather to election collusion.