NOUN VC, others call for collaboration against fake news

Prof. Olufemi Peters, Vice-Chancellor, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), alongside other stakeholders, have called for stronger collaboration among policymakers and stakeholders in the education and media sectors to curb fake news.

They made the call at a one-day symposium organised by the International Media and Information Literacy Institute (IMILI) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation and UNESCO, at NOUN headquarters on Thursday in Abuja.

The event, with the theme, ”Blogging, Artificial Intelligence and Credibility of Social Media Contents: a hybrid resolution approach”, had in attendance participants from the academia and the media.

According to the stakeholders, the advancement in information dissemination, especially through the social media and the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI), necessitated the challenges of misinformation and disinformation.

They therefore called for enhanced media literacy education in communities and schools to equip Nigerians with the skills to discern credible information from misinformation and make informed decisions in the digital age.

Peters lamented the rapid spread of misinformation, disinformation and fake news, noting that they had become a threat to social order peace and unity.

“Essentially, today’s symposium is what we have just described, how we are able to manage information in the age of technology, especially what we call fake news.

“It is very rampant now among blogs and various social media platforms and we must try and involve policies, rules and regulations on how we manage public information within this era that we now find ourselves.

“Because of so many abuses that are out there, we have to arrange a symposium like this to be able to discuss amongst ourselves ways we can approach this.

“How do we ensure that we can rely on whatever information that is given to us, this is why we need to work together for enhanced media literacy,” he said.

Also speaking, Dr Lateef Adelakun, Head of Department, Mass Communication, NOUN, said that fake news affects the fabric of every society and therefore, requires the collaboration of everyone to address it.

Adelakun, who is also the Director, IMILI, regretted that the emergence of social media, as well as AI led to the abuse of the media space.

“We have all our information from the media, if you don’t want to be misinformed, if you don’t want to consume fake news, definitely we need what is called media and information literacy.

“If you are not literate about the media content, then you will be misled and you will take wrong decisions.

“That is the essence of this institution where we run many programmes to liberate people from the chance of media abuse, fake news, misinformation, disinformation and even information overload,” he said.

Earlier in his goodwill message, Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation, said the ministry had remained steadfast in its commitment to foster a well-informed and critically aware citizenry.

The minister who was represented by Mrs Comfort Ajiboye, Director and Acting Permanent Secretary in the ministry, said the federal government was willing to work with relevant stakeholders in the collective fight against fake news.

“By supporting platforms such as this symposium, we aim to encourage constructive dialogue, innovative solutions and international collaboration,

“Together with our partners at UNESO and IMILI, we are confident that the outcomes of today’s discussion will contribute meaningfully to advancing media literacy.

“We hope that it will ensure the promotion of responsible use of information technologies in Nigeria and beyond,” he said.