The Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Jamie Christoff, has said that the West African sub-region has the worst cases of disinformation campaigns in Africa, accounting for nearly 40 per cent of documented cases.
Mr Christoff said this on Wednesday in Lagos at the ongoing three-day second regional conference organised by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD West Africa) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and funded by Global Affairs Canada.
He, however, assured of his country’s commitment to supporting Nigeria and other West African countries in combating disinformation and hate speech in the region’s electoral ecosystem.
The conference, themed: “Countering Disinformation and Hate Speech in West Africa”, involved stakeholders from across the region exchanging knowledge, sharing best practices and developing collaborative strategies to address the spread of disinformation, hate speech and other forms of information manipulation.
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He highlighted the importance of international cooperation in addressing the challenge, citing Canada’s role in providing funding, technical assistance and capacity-building initiatives to support African nations.
He called for digital literacy, leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and fostering a healthy online ecosystem to protect information integrity and also the importance of protecting independent media and freedom of expression by prioritising partnerships with tech companies, innovation hubs and the private sector.
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