Four reasons you should reject fake news and how to identify it

First, let me say how liberating to be back to the life of a journalist. I will say more on this very soon. For now, I am burdened as a citizen by the problem of fake news. Having served eight years as a public servant working as a political appointee, I have witnessed the inherent damages of fake news. As you can imagine I have been a serial victim myself, most time on behalf of my principal.

Here are four reasons citizens and in our case, Nigerians should reject fake news.

1. Fake news worsens the cynicism between governments and their people. In fact, fake news ab intio thrives on that distrust. The problem is, while a certain level of cynicism would always exist in society and especially between governments and their people, fake news escalates it and makes the needed synergy between governments and their people difficult, if not impossible. The danger is, no series or sustainable development is possible without such synergy. Fake news damages that.
2. Fake news rubbishes the notion of a free and illustrious press. It was Thomas Jefferson who said on January 16, 1787, that the “basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter”. So you can imagine how fake news messes with the development of people’s opinions. Therefore every loyal citizen must actively reject fake news because it would blur the true opinions of the people and damages the role of a free, true press in our society
3. Also, fake news distracts attention from the more important work of democracy and the right pursuit of the good, welfare, and safety of the largest number of people. A fake news item will often redirect our focus from serious matters and use our own human emotions to confuse us and creates tension where there should be attention.
4. Finally, fake news many times preys on our lower human instincts. It rubbishes our sense of decency and civility reducing us to very base instincts. Fake news preys, for instance, on the tensions in our diversity; especially ethnic and religious. It promotes hatred and negative stereotypes. Fake news kills our desire and aspirations to rise above small-mindedness because it engages in merchandising our past failures as a nation and as a people. Tell me why should decent people of goodwill fall for this kind of low-life?

I have restrained for now to cite any particular example from my experience serving the Nigerian people these past years so that this is not misconstrued in any way. We must work hard, especially all communication professionals, to kill fake news and agree on a template to fight it. As things stand today, there is no such framework at all.

To conclude, I have compiled seven tips already listed by several sources and some of my own ideas on how to identify fake news, thus

Check the source: For Nigerian news, it’s important to verify the source of the news before sharing it. Check if the source is from reputable Nigerian media outlets. You can determine that for instance by looking at other news on the site. On WhatsApp, never believe any news that doesn’t carry a link. You will see breaking or breaking news, don’t pay attention except if it has a legitimate link.

Look at the headline: Be wary of sensational headlines that exaggerate the story. Some news outlets are known to use provocative headlines to grab readers’ attention. While it is ok to be reasonably sensational be very cautious of headlines that seem too good to be true positively or negatively.

Check the date: Fake news items are sometimes churned out years after the actual event. Ensure that you verify the date of publication or event to be sure it is up-to-date. In relating with my support team while heading up the media team of the immediate past vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, we developed the term — RE-TRENDS or RE-TRENDING. This is when perhaps your opponents or those who have a cause to damage your reputation would go and revive a fake news, or baseless news report and rehash it as if it’s news. They don’t date it for obvious reasons creating the impression that it is new and recent. This is why any item that does not carry a date should be completely ignored. You won’t miss a thing. If the story is true, you won’t miss it.

Look for supporting evidence: Fake news creators often don’t provide supporting evidence for their claims. Verify facts contained within the story before sharing. They will often rely on the empirical fact that most people only read headlines.

Read beyond the headline: Fake news publishers in Nigeria tend to include deceptive introductory paragraphs that are contrary to the information contained in the article. Make sure you read beyond the headlines to verify what’s reported.

Check other sources: Cross-check the story with other credible media outlets, or fact-checking websites. If the story or particular headline is only being reported by one source, it’s advisable to second-guess its authenticity.

Use fact-checking tools: There are several fact-checking sites. Always make sure you check with a reliable fact-checking source before sharing any news item.

Depend only on trusted sources for your daily news: And there are many around. In the last two weeks vacating in the USA, where I had lived for 17 straight years before 2015, I realized that the incidence of fake news, especially on WhatsApp is very low. I intend to further understudy that but it is clear that people here depend more on credible sources of information.

Akande, a former presidential aide, writes from Lagos