BY Femi Owolabi
Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), a not-for-profit research and training organisation, is set to host a conference on how fake news threatens Nigeria’s democracy and freedom.
As 2019 general election approaches, the conference will facilitate discussion around fake news, misinformation and disinformation, their effects on Nigeria’s democracy, and how it could be mitigated.
Starting 9am each day, the two-day conference will hold on August 7 and 8, 2018 at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers in Abuja.
In a statement signed on Thursday by Idayat Hassan, CDD’s director, experts, renowned journalists, civil society actors, academia, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and government officials will participate in the conference.
“The timing of this conference is crucial especially as our elections are fast approaching and it is essential to prevent the circulation of fake news and disinformation,” she said.
The discourse will also include cyber security, impact of fake news on journalism and democracy, implications of fake news on freedom of press and speech, and the role of social media in the fake new crisis.
Lai Mohammed, minister of information, will chair the conference.
The keynote speakers are Is’haq Modibbo, director general, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), and Attahiru Jega, former INEC chairman.
Simon Kolawole, chief executive officer of Cable Newspaper Limited, Oby Ezekwesili amongst others are expected to chair discussion panels in the conference.
The event will be streamed live on the CDD’s Facebook page and anchored on Twitter with the hash tag, #FakeNewsConf2018.
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