The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed
has said that the social networking site, Facebook, has pledged to partner with
the Federal Government to check the spread of fake news and disinformation in
the wake of the outbreak of the Coronavirus in Nigeria.
The Minister who announced this at a news briefing in Abuja
on Friday said it’s obvious that the purveyors of fake news will scale up their
act to create panic and spread disinformation, following the confirmation of
the disease in Nigeria.
“We know that at times like this, purveyors of fake news and
disinformation usually ramp up their acts. We are therefore urging Nigerians
not to fall for the antics of purveyors of fakes news and disinformation.
“Fortunately, Facebook is working with us in this regard.
They have asked Nigerians to report any false or misleading report on Facebook
and Instagram pages so they can immediately bring them down.
“They have also assured us that they are taking preemptive
action to remove any false or harmful messages about this epidemic and public
health in Nigeria 24/7. All that Nigerians are required to do is to flag any
false or misleading report on the epidemic and Facebook will remove any such
report,” he said.
The Minister said media agencies of the Federal Ministry of
Information and Culture, like the NTA, FRCN, NAN, and VON, have been directed
to intensify their ongoing sensitization and enlightenment campaigns to arm
Nigerians with the necessary information to stay well.
He said measures being taken by the agencies include
enlightenment jingles on radio and television, up-to-date reports on the
efforts being made by Nigerian health authorities to ensure proper screening at
the nation’s gateways and also handle possible cases, continued airing of
documentaries on the disease by the NTA and SMS sensitization messages being
sent to Nigerians by the News Agency of Nigeria.
Alhaji Mohammed said the National Orientation Agency (NOA),
with its wide reach (offices in all the 774 local governments), is pushing the
various sensitization/enlightenment programmes to all the nooks and crannies of
the country by translating the campaign to the major indigenous languages to
expand their reach.
He added that Features on the disease (prevention,
treatment, etc.) are also being written and disseminated.
The Minister, therefore, appealed to all Nigerians not to
panic, as the Government was well equipped to detect and handle any possible
case or cases.
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