Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has
challenged the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) to lead the ongoing
efforts to rid the social media of fake news and hate speech
Receiving the national executive of the NUJ led by its President, Mr.
Chris Isiguzo, during a courtesy visit to his office on Monday, the
Minister said it is in the interest of the NUJ and other media bodies
to be in the vanguard of the campaign.
”As a matter of fact, the NUJ and other media professional bodies
should take the lead in sanitizing the social media space, because
they will be the first victim when the people lose confidence in the
media due to the reckless actions of non-journalists and purveyors of
fake news and hate speech,” he said.
Mohammed said the plan by the Federal Government to regulate
the social media is not aimed at gagging journalists or stifling free
speech, saying ”only the purveyors of fake news and hate speech need
to be worried.”
He assured that the federal government will not act unilaterally in
deciding the strategy to adopt in regulating the social media, saying:
”We will work with stakeholders, including the NUJ, Guild of Editors,
Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria, the Civil Society,
Online Publishers, Bloggers, etc.”
He said while the debate on the social media regulation has been
robust, with some commentators supporting the plan and others opposing
it, the federal government will not relent in its quest to inject
sanity into the social media.
”Let me be clear: We are going ahead with our plan to stop, as much
as we can, the anarchists, non-patriots and purveyors of fake news and
hate speeches. No responsible government will sit by and allow these
purveyors of fake news and hate speech a free reign. That’s why many
countries of the world are taking measures to regulate the social
media,” Mohammed said.
He listed the options open to the government in regulating the social
media as including technology, legislation and the use of regulatory
bodies.
”It is up to the stakeholders to decide the best option. But we have
also taken the initiative to meet, very soon, with the platform
owners, like Facebook, WhatsApp, Google, Twitter and Instagram, among
others, to engage them on the way forward,” the Minister said
In his remarks, Isiguzo thanked the
government for boosting security through the Nigerian Internal
Security and Public Safety Alert System which, he said, the NUJ will
key into for enhanced safety of journalists in the country.
He said the NUJ is also working with stakeholders to present a bill to
enhance welfare package for journalists before the National Assembly.
