About 69 per cent of Nigerian politicians and their political parties spread false information using the social media to sway unsuspecting voters, a report released by the Pan-African research institution, Afrobarometer, has shown.
The organisation, with a mandate of conducting public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, economy and society in over 30 countries, noted that majority of Nigerians want unrestricted access to the internet and social media.
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Recall that there have been several moves by the federal government to regulate the use of social media over what it described as ‘fake news’, a move many Nigerians have kicked against.
In the report, which was made available to newsmen, yesterday, 60% of government officials and social media users, respectively, are said to be guilty of the offence, while 51% news media and journalists and 40% of activists and interest groups are also culpable.
The report added that during the findings, about two-thirds (63%) of Nigerians said they are aware of social media.
“Awareness increases with citizens’ level of education (88% of those with post-secondary education vs. 29% of those with no formal education) and decreases with age (66% of 18- to 35-year-olds vs. 43% of those aged 56 and above,” it read in part.
