There are so many things that dont change about a Nigerian election: candidates, colourful election rallies, laughable campaign promises and of course, fake news.

Fake news is typically weaponised to manipulate perceptions about candidates or situations and were already seeing, in real time, how thats affecting Nigerias 2023 presidential election.

Campaigns for the 2023 elections dont officially start until September 2022, but the pre-season campaign has been littered with an abundance of misinformation. On August 9th, 2022, Ghanaian president, Nana Akufo-Addo, raised alarm on Twitter that his name was being used for dirty business in Nigeria.

He was responding to a story that was trending on social media, where he allegedly wrote a letter to the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu. In this letter, he supposedly advised Tinubu to consider his supposedly frail health and step down for Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP). The long and short of Akufo-Addos reaction was that the story was fake and the reply was:

Obi has also been the subject of endorsements from Hollywood stars endorsements that have turned out to be fake.

Tinubu has featured in another story involving the circulation of a presidential campaign council list that he said was fake.

There have also been fake social media accounts of prominent people like the former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, being used for misinformation.

This account is fake

Every fake story allowed to spread unchallenged pollutes the public consciousness heading into the elections. Fake news can be harmless mischief, sure, but it can also be malicious and dangerous.

And the tension of this current fake news season is already getting to the presidential candidates themselves.

Tinubu has called out Obis supporters to stop spreading lies against him. In an indirect response, Obi accused faceless opposition of creating misinformation materials for his benefit so that his campaign can be blamed.

Unfortunately, its impossible to completely eliminate fake news online, whether its created unintentionally or intentionally to manipulate. But it doesnt matter what the intention of creators of fake news is, they need unsuspecting people to carry this message.

Its important for internet users to step into the gap and ensure they dont help the spread of fake stories. Because, more than the creators, its the people who share fake news that really give such news life. This is why its important that everyone is cautious about the kind of stories they share online.

There are a few obvious things to look out for to help curb the spread of misinformation:

The source of a message can be as important as the message. Before you share a story of any weight, ask yourself if you trust the source to be telling the truth.

If theres an opportunity to double-check the information from other sources, do that for sure. Trust is fine, but verify first.

Emotionally-charged topics like elections can make us more likely to fall for fake news, especially when its something that fits neatly into our biases. Always check to see that your judgement isnt clouded by your bias.

Before you share that juicy story about a candidate or party, are you sure that you need to? You need to answer this question especially if you cant find corroborating sources, or feel your bias is in the way of good judgement.

It can be ridiculously easy to fall for fake news, no matter how refined you think you are. This is why its important that you tick all the boxes on this list. Scrutinise everything carefully. Be curious and dont stay stuck inside your bubble.

Burst it

You may not create fake news, but youre needed as fuel to make it spread to more people.

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Original post:

Who's Responsible for All the Fake News Around the 2023 Elections? - Zikoko