… Urges practitioners to sanitize industry

By Emmanuel Elebeke

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alh. Lai Mohammed has called on the media practitioners, particularly the gate keepers, to weed out those whose activities spreading fake news, misinformation and hate speech in the sector.

The minister made the call on Tuesday at a one-day symposium entitled: Information as  a Public Good, organized by the ministry  in partnership with Broadcasting Commission, Nigerian Press Council and NATCOM  and UNESCO in Abuja.

He warned that the media must guide against the spread of fake news and misinformation among its members in order not to  undermine the professionalism and erode public confidence in the media.

The minister, who commended the media for their selfless service to the country, reiterated his earlier call to the media to set up a desk to fact-check all information at their disposal before dissemination, insisting that the continuous spread of fake news and unverified reports could jeopardize the unity of the country.

He said, ‘‘​We must at all times note that safeguarding our nationhood and positioning our country and citizens for true development and growth must remain sacrosanct. We will continue to support the media in this regard.

‘‘I wish to reiterate my call to the media to be circumspect as they exercise this freedom, taking into cognizance our national unity and security.

‘‘I want to reiterate my call to the media to set up a desk to fact-check all information at their disposal before dissemination. ​I have observed that some media outfits have kick-started this process and I commend them greatly for this patriotic act.  I urge others to emulate this worthy example by setting up this desk.’’

‘‘​Permit me at this juncture to appreciate the efforts of  our courageous men and women of the fourth estate of the realm, who often engage in energy sapping and sometimes thankless job of being the conscience of the society. ​To us as a Government, we see the media as partners in progress in our collective quest to fulfill that which our founding fathers toiled and bled for.

‘‘This symposium could not have come at a better time, a time when the term “collective good” has been distorted with the proliferation of fake news, misinformation and hate speech in our media space. These acts over time have threatened to tarnish the hard earned reputation garnered by the Nigerian Media over the years. As we are all aware, fake news, misinformation and hate speech can lead to civil unrest and also impact negatively on our national cohesion, hence we must; eschew this practice.’’

 ‘‘It is our firm belief that promoting information as a public good is necessary to draw attention to the special role of journalism in producing news as verified information in the public interest as well as to build upon our democratic achievements in the last six years.’’

In his paper presentation titled:  Information as a Public Good, Dr. Chido Onuma charged the media to always publish only verify information so as to prevent the spread of misinformation.

He said time has  for the media managers to put proper checks before disseminating every piece of information to the public.

Earlier in his goodwill message, the Force PRO, Frank Mba said our moral values must be resculitated for Nigeria to achieve united and a progressive society.

 He appealed to media to assist in creating the awareness for entrenching good moral values that is lacking among the citizens.

Also in his goodwill message, the Radio, Television, Theatre and Arts Workers Union, President, Com. Kabir Garba challenged government to ensure the safety and insurance of media practitioners are guaranteed.

He also advocated for a special palliative for media workers to help them cushion the effects of Covid-19 pandemic.

The World Press Freedom Day is a day set aside to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom – which was earlier celebrated on May 3rd.