THE IMPACT OF FAKE NEWS ON THE SOCIETY

ABSTRACT

This research presents the results of the impact of fake news on Nigeria Society, a case study of Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, Lagos state. Data were gathered using a self -constructed questionnaire and the result gotten was analyzed using the simple percentage method.  The validity and reliability of instrument were ascertained. Data analyzed from the research shows that there is a great deals of fake news in Nigeria, and also fake news influence and impact people negatively, the study however recommends that Online newspapers should adopt the operation model of the conventional newspaper.

Cases of the circulation of fake news are prevalent in the country as it is across the world, but the circulation of false information have not started to have a toll on the perceived credibility of popular online newspapers. Those who because of fake news are cautiously optimistic about the credibility of popular online newspapers were found to be slightly higher than those who have allowed incidence of fake news make them suspect reports on popular online newspapers as not credible. This means that fake news still poses a threat to the perception Nigerians have of reputable online newspapers.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background of the Study

The online platform, Sahara Reporters had dished out a story which was disputed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, stating that “no official of the EFCC was authorized to speak with Sahara reporters on the said story or on any issue affecting the investigation of the Paris Club refund”. Also, the Senate President, who was at the receiving end of the story, disclosed that the publisher of Sahara Reporters is in the habit of creating fiction and quoting faceless sources. Yet, this is not a one-off development. Another major instance of fake news which dominated Nigeria’s media space was the rumoured death of President Muhammadu Buhari shortly after he began a health leave to the United Kingdom on January 19, 2017. So audacious were the masterminds that they cloned Metro newspaper of the UK or Huffington Post of US announcing in the spoofs that President Buhari has died in London. While “Metro” reported the “death” of the Nigerian president, “Huffington Post” alleged that he was caught “committing suicide”. The same picture of Buhari was used on both stories which had the same lines repeated in them. However these contradictions did not stop the spoofs from sending the internet into an overdrive in Nigeria, as the rumored death of Buhari was lapped up by some blogs and the social media. In the face of this, little wonder that Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Mr. Lai Mohammed, in February 2017 asserted that fake news poses more danger to the country than insurgency and militancy. He catalogued some false reports the Information ministry has had to contend with thus: Only recently, we have to refute the fake news that Nigeria today is the most difficult place for Christians to live. There was also the fake report that the armed forces of Nigeria armed the Fulani herdsmen and instigate them to carry out attacks. All these news are unfounded, fake and has the capacity to set one religion or group against the other. (Premium Times 2017, February 21) Mohammed spoke the same month that the Chocolate City founder, Audu Maikori, was arrested by security operatives for publishing a false report about the violence in the southern part of Kaduna state with the Kaduna State governor, Mr. Nasir El-Rufai stating that “what he posted may have led to killings and we are trying to link the date of the postings to attacks that happened the next day on Fulanis”. (Pulse.ng 2017, March 3) It is in the light of these instances and many like it which show that the practice is assuming a life of its own in Nigeria that this study sets out to find out how the incidence of fake news is detracting from the credibility Nigerians accord popular online newspapers operating in the country. This is bearing in mind the submission by Ekwueme (2008, p. 91) that: Your readers want the facts you heard or observed from your various sources, and not figment of your own imagination. Many people believe media messages to be gospel truth and, of course, some of the readers believe either rightly or wrongly that anything that is not carried in the media is not authentic. Since they have that trust in you, you don’t betray it. If you betray it, you have betrayed yourself and the integrity of your medium. According to Asemah (2009, p.37), “The media, whether electronic or print oen set agenda for the public to follow; they monitor trends and events in our society and raised their agenda based on what they have monitored… Whatever issue the media raised becomes an issue of public concern”. “By electronically reproducing the news to cater to a much larger audience than its newspaper subscriber base, online newspapers should be doing a great service to humankind. After all, they are bringing readers more information than anyone has done in history at a time when the value of information as a commodity is greater than ever” Thiel (1998). Bearing this in mind and the need to sustain that pride of place earlier occupied by the print newspaper in setting the agenda as well as among other roles holding government accountable to the people, the society stands to lose out greatly if popular online newspapers, in the face of disappearing

• Statement of the Problem

Motsaathebe (2011, p.14) posits that “the news media is generally regarded as a credible provider of a realistic view of what happens around the world. In composing news, journalists rely on various sources to verify or lend credibility to the Information they put across”. Kolawole (2017) writes, “Fake news — that art of concocting stories from your bedroom because you have a smart phone with cheap data is becoming the biggest thing in town. No, it is not new. It was not invented in this generation of social media. We have been living with fake news most of our lives. The SAP riots of 1989, for instance, were sparked off by fake news.” The assertions above point the how fake news affects not just the media but the society as well. With the advent of the new media, the scourge of fake news is becoming more prevalent that its negative impact on popular online newspapers is very evident. As Allcot & Gentzkow (2017, p.7) said, “The declining trust in mainstream media could be both a cause and a consequence of fake news gaining more traction”. If fake news can affect traditional newspapers, then its impact on major online newspapers can only be imagined. The literacy level in the country has not entirely made the difference between social media and popular online newspaper a common knowledge to all. It is still believed in some quarters that there is no difference between a major online news site and Facebook. To this extent, it is feared that whatever negative impression people have of one is extended to the other. Well-known online newspapers are too important to the fabrics of the society to be allowed to be smeared altogether by what users post on social media channels.

• Objective of the Study

The main objective of this study is to find out the impact of fake news on the Nigerian society. Specifically the study intends to;

1. To find out if the media play a part in dissemination of fake news in Nigeria
2. To discover how frequent cases of fake news are reported in the country
3. To know the perception Nigerian have for news report in the country
4. To know the effect of fake news on target audience

1.4     Research Questions

1. How prevalent are cases of fake news in Nigeria?
2. Do popular online newspapers play any role in the dissemination of fake news?
3. How do Nigerians perceive news reports published on popular online newspapers?
4. Is there any difference in reports published on popular online newspapers from those broadcast through social media platforms?

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