In order to combat fake news and misinformation ahead of the general elections in 2023, the Federal Government of Nigeria has disclosed additional measures taken by Meta, the company that owns Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram.
This was disclosed by Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, in his opening remarks at the 12th edition of the “PMB Administration Scorecard Series (2015-2023)”.
Godwill Akpabio, the minister of Niger Delta affairs, said at the news conference on Wednesday.
In addition to violence, insecurity, vote buying, and attacks on INEC facilities, among other things, the Minister reaffirmed that fake news and disinformation pose a clear and present threat to the success of the elections in 2023.
He added, “In this regard, I want to acknowledge the announcement by Meta, the owners of Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp, that it will take clearly-outlined steps to protect the integrity of the forthcoming elections.
“Specifically, Meta detailed the actions it plans to take to combat disinformation and to make political advertising more
transparent. The company committed to these actions before, during and after the elections.
The minister said it hopes Meta will live up to its promise while urging other platform owners like Google (owners of YouTube and others), ByteDance (owners of TikTok), Twitter and the Telegram Group Inc. (owners of Telegram messenger) to emulate Meta by taking positive steps to prevent the spread of fake news, disinformation and hate speech via their platforms ahead, during and after the 2023 elections.