The Federal Government has approved the creation of ‘Naija Falsehood Buster,’ a national hub to fight fake news and misinformation through a Tertiary Education Trust fund (TETfund)-approved research project led by Dr Toyin Onayinka, of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE).
With approval, Onayinka, a New Media Specialist and Principal Investigator, alongside members of his team, comprising Dr Jacob Opele, Dr Lawrence Adewole; Dr Chioma Agbasimelo, Dr Blessing Dakat, and Grace Onipede, will develop an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven system and a national database of influential on-air personalities to detect, monitor, and reduce falsehoods that threaten national cohesion.
The TETFund project is part of the 158 research proposals approved for the 2024 National Research Fund (NRF). The project, which will develop an AI-driven platform, the ‘Naija Falsehoods Buster’ and establish a National Hub for tracking and evaluating falsehoods across Nigeria’s digital and broadcast media, will be hosted at FUOYE.
According to Onayinka, who lectures at the Faculty of Communication and Media studies, and currently, the Head of Broadcasting department, the interdisciplinary project, titled: ‘Modelling AI to identify falsehoods: Impact of on-air personalities (OAPs) and social media influencers on national integration,’ combines natural language processing, machine-learning and mixed-methods fieldwork to map how OAPs and influencers contribute to the spread of misinformation and disinformation; create a large annotated dataset for Nigeria; and deploy an accessible software-as-a-Service (SaaS) tool that flags, classifies and visualises falsehoods in real time. The project is scheduled for completion within 24 months.
The project will develop a database of influential OAPs and social media personalities for research; dashboards and analytical reports on falsehoods in media space for public-private policymakers, regulators and media organisations, among others.
The university noted that such an initiative is paramount at this time, when “falsehoods and manipulated narratives can accelerate societal polarisation and erode public trust.
He added: “This hub will provide real-time, locally-trained AI tools and evidence-based guidance to strengthen media literacy, support fact-checking, and inform regulatory and policy interventions that protect national cohesion.”
In a related development, two other staff members of the university also won the 2024 TETFund National Research Fund. Olayide Lawal, a Professor of Industrial Chemistry, will conduct research on Alternative energy from biomass, while Dr Bamigbola Adelaja will work on curbing the menace of breast and prostate cancer with Novel plant-derived anti-cancer Nano drugs.
