Fake News: A Threat to Societal Peace and Progress:

By Sola Agboola

Media Organizations must ensure they desist from spreading fake news to enable them maintain their integrity and retain people’s confidence.

The Group Managing Director of Ibadan Media Academy, Mr Yemi Sounde made the submission while delivering a Lecture on ‘” Fake News and Media Integrity” organized by the Department of Mass Communication Dominican University, Ibadan on the consequences of “Fake News” which cannot be over emphasized.

“ Fake News Eliminates Public Trust Fake news makes the public to lose confidence in the media.

Subsequent stories published or broadcast are received with disbelief.

It makes it extremely difficult for people to trust the media.

Dangers of Fake News constitute a “Threat to Peace and Stability in the Society”, Fake news can determine the course of public discourse in such a way that it can lead to chaos and instability”.

Mr Sounde who is the Founder of Yes Academy urged the media to always maintain ethical standards in the discharge of their professional duties by making accuracy, fairness, accountability and transparency their guiding principles, saying media organizations should properly fact check their stories and get their information from credible and reliable sources.

The Media Professional said with the emergence of the new media which has no regard for ethical rules and professional standard in information dissemination, it was pertinent for media organizations to maintain integrity in their practice, whether in the new or traditional media through professional discipline.

“ The rules and ethical guidelines of the job must be strictly adhered to.

More importantly, individual practitioner’s dispositions to the job has a lot to do with the issue of integrity.
Your conscience matters.

What does it tell you to do?

To present the truth as you create and provide content, or to send out falsehood in pursuant and fulfillment of personal interests? Integrity of the media depends to a very large extent on the integrity of the practitioners”.

Mr Sounde who frowned at a situation whereby the cankerworm of fake news has shattered many homes and marriages , political unrest and even preventable deaths decried the enthusiasm of some journalists for breaking news which often lead to publishing of unverified stories.

In an address on the occasion, a Legal Practitioner , Mr James Ajibola called on the media professionals to always verify their stories before publishing to avoid negative results.

Mr Ajibola also suggested stiffer penalties for any journalist found culpable in the disinformation, misinformation and malformation of news.

Earlier the Head of Department of Mass Communication, Dominican University, Ibadan, Dr Ifeanyi Onyike said the Lecture was part of the Institution’s commitment to educate the society about the dangers of fake news and correct the media practitioners on the need to abide by their ethical standards.

Dr Onyike attributed the causes of fake news among some journalists to irregular payment of salaries, poverty and inadequate training.

The Lecture which was one in the series organized by the department of Mass Communication had in attendance many academics and media personalities including former Director New Media, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Pastor Dare Olorunfemi and former Controller Programmes, FRCN Positive FM Akure Mr Kayode Joseph.