“The tragedy of fake news is that people get confused by it which may affect their attitude to the efforts to contain the disease.”
EPHRAIMS SHEYINMinister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed, while featuring on the News Agency of Nigeria Forum last week, decried the rising spate of fake news and misinformation on the Coronavirus pandemic, and regretted that the trend was distracting the war against the scourge.
“In Katsina, an entire Police Station was burnt down by an irate mob that felt angered that they were not allowed to attend the Friday Juma’at service. Just last week, he had to refute a media report that 26 American arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport , Lagos, without screening for Coronavirus.
“They met with the Port Health Authority and personnel of the immigration service who screened them. We have the records to show that they were screened,” he said. “It is wrong for the media to be publishing fake news that will frustrate the efforts of not just government, but the frontline people in this fight which include health workers, the immigration and others.
Indeed, the purveyors of fake news have continued to hurl lots of lies into the system with some alleging recently that members of the Presidential Task Force for the Control of Coronavirus , were already sharing monies donated by corporate bodies and individuals to support the fight against the pandemic.
“I can say without any fear that as of this moment, the task force has not received a kobo from anybody. “When we rely on such fake news and start self-medication, your matter gets worse and you become helpless when you eventually reach out for the actual treatment. “The impact of Covid-19 presents new and unique challenges. The pandemic has affected Nigerians in various ways ranging from lifestyle changes, enforced shutdowns, economic losses, family dislocations and separations.
In some cases, photos from other shores are shared in the Nigerian space, ostensibly to create the impression that they are local scenes. “Some people must take up the role of speaking against the bastardisation of journalism by the new media,” he declared. But, as stakeholders strive to minimise the incidences of fake news, analysts have suggested a deeper look into why it is getting more common and becoming the norm.
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