An investigation by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has revealed that political parties have been secretly paying some social media influencers across Nigeria to spread false information about their opponents ahead of the forthcoming general elections. The BBC reports that its Global Disinformation Team has spoken to whistle-blowers working for two undisclosed political parties and prominent social media influencers who have described it as 'an industry'.
Nigerian Political Parties Secretly Paying Influencers Up To N20million To Spread Disinformation During Elections – InvestigationThe BBC reports that its Global Disinformation Team has spoken to whistle-blowers working for two undisclosed political parties and prominent social media influencers who have described it as"an industry".
We changed their names to protect their identity."Yemi" is a prominent strategist and"Godiya" a politician. According to the report, one influencer who asked not to be named - with almost 150,000 Facebook followers, confirmed to the BBC that he is paid by political parties to post completely false stories about political opponents, saying that he does not do it openly but rather plants false stories through other micro-influencers he hires.
The influencers apply different tactics to reach more people on Twitter, with many playing on divisive issues such as religious, ethnic and regional differences.
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