Get Guardian on GoogleReligion leaders have called for an end to fake news, misinformation and disinformation to promote peaceful coexistence and prevent conflicts in Nigeria.
The call was made during a capacity-building workshop for religious leaders organised by a fact-checking and media literacy organization, Alkalanci, Co-Funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), in Adamawa State. The project is aimed at equiping them with skills to identify, verify and responsibly disseminate information within their communities.
Speaking at the workshop, the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Adamawa, Reverend Joel Danjuma Manzo, said unverified information and inflammatory statements were major causes of confusion and misunderstanding, stressing the need for responsible communication to sustain unity and peaceful coexistence.
He urged participants to avoid derogatory and provocative statements, exercise self-control in their communication and ensure that knowledge acquired during the training was transferred to their followers and communities.
Similarly, the State Secretary of Jama’atu Islam, Bakari Umar, said the initiative was important to Adamawa and Nigeria generally because of its ethnic, cultural and religious diversity, urging religious leaders, traditional rulers and other stakeholders to discourage the spread of false information capable of triggering community conflicts.
Umar also expressed concern over the circulation of unverified information by non-professional media practitioners through social media platforms, including WhatsApp and X, calling for wider grassroots awareness, particularly ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Programme Manager of Alkalanci, Victoria Bamas, said the initiative was introduced because false information was spreading faster than fact-checkers could verify it. She identified the monetisation of fake news and sensational content as a growing threat, noting that some individuals deliberately circulated false information to generate online engagement and financial benefits.
Bamas said the organisation adopted a train-the-trainer approach, citing Gombe where 20 trained religious leaders subsequently reached 85 others through step-down training. She added that the initiative also targeted religious teachers to promote media and information literacy, expressing hope that participants would use the knowledge acquired to strengthen responsible information sharing, tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
