The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu has identified fake news as a threat to national security.
The INEC Chairman stated this in his address at the 6th Annual Conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers, GOCOP, held at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos on Thursday.
He said the body must lead a network or alliance of stakeholders to curb fake news engineered by unpatriotic individuals.
Yakubu said, “We must continue to work together against the spread of fake news, misinformation and disinformation that seek to create or exacerbate tension or delegitimise processes and outcomes.
“As you are aware, election is a multi-stakeholder activity. As the Commission is doing its best to ensure a credible process, we also appeal to the media for continuous partnership. Managing the electoral process for credible outcome is the responsibility of all of us. As campaign activities get underway, the media will continue to play an important role. A lot of the activities will take place in the media of which the new media is a critical player.”
He went further to assure Nigerians that their votes will continue to count and will be the sole determinant of electoral outcome.
