As Nigeria looks forward to the 2027 general elections, a communication and media researcher, Maryam Lasisi Mustapha, has said Nigeria risks deeper voter apathy if urgent action is not taken to tame the spread of fake news, warning that the menace is rapidly eroding trust in the electoral system, particularly among the country’s youths, who form the majority of potential voters.

Speaking on her recent study on digital fake news diffusion on political polarisation among Nigerian youth, Mustapha, who is a doctoral student at the EW Scripps School of Journalism, Ohio University, noted that Nigerian youth aged 18–35, who are the central actors in the electoral processes, are susceptible and easy to manipulate, because they lack the necessary resources and skills to filter authentic news from fake ones.

She cited a recent Citizen Report which revealed that six in 10 Nigerian youths now avoid politics due to fake news, while 73 per cent do not trust INEC to conduct credible elections.

“This direct link between exposure to misinformation and a quantifiable decline in political engagement underscores the urgent need to understand the mechanisms of fake news diffusion within this demographic,” she said.

Mustapha submitted that the diffusion of fake news and political misinformation has become a direct driver of political polarisation in Nigeria.

“In a country characterised by deep ethno-religious and political tensions, misinformation spreads widely and can fuel extremist perspectives and hate speech, further deepening societal divides,” she said.

The researcher warned that the proliferation of misinformation has a direct and measurable impact on the integrity of the country’s political processes, adding that by distorting public debate and undermining people’s ability to form meaningful opinions, fake news threatens the core of democratic participation.

She noted that with social media overtaking traditional news media as the leading source of news for many Nigerians, the shift has created a new class of digital journalists, including everyday citizens, who can disseminate news stories, whether factual or false, to a wide audience with ease.

To curb the spread of fake news, the communication researcher emphasised the need for robust media literacy education, noting that Nigerian schools currently lack such a curriculum despite heavy social media use.