The perceived threat posed by fake news to the successful conduct of the 2019 elections in Nigeria has come to the fore. A report describing Nigeria as “the capital of fake news” also noted that the issue is now Africa’s growing digital security threat. “The problem has become so acute that the government of Africa’s most populous nation has warned that misinformation could be the biggest threat to credible elections,” WSJ reports. Continuing, the medium reported that the Federal Government has said that sharing of fake images along with incorrect and inflammatory commentary have led to deaths in certain parts of the country. “Fake news has upended elections across the globe but found particularly fertile ground in Africa, where 54 countries, more than 1,000 languages and chronically underfunded local media, complicate efforts to combat the spread of rumours and misinformation,” WSJ said.

Source: Punch February 15, 2019 11:55 UTC