2023: Fact-Check, US Ambassador Tells Nigerian Media

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As 2023 general elections approach, the Ambassador of the United States of America to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, has urged the Nigerian media to always fact check their stories before publication as such will reduce fake news issues.

According to the ambassador,  media right to press freedom by countering propaganda and disinformation through regular and impartial fact-checking is a key professional factor.

Speaking on Thursday in Lagos during a Town Hall Meeting hosted by the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Leonard said that team approach was needed to help improve public trust in the media.

The media-focused Town Hall meetings and two-day workshops for over 200 editors will take place in turns in the six geopolitical zones across the country and is supported by the US Embassy in Nigeria.

Leonard said one of the challenges that democracies around the world are faced with is an “unfortunate, pervasive lack of trust in the media.”

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She decried financial inducement of journalists, saying that the “practice corrodes the institutional position of the media as what we refer to as the Fourth Estate or one of our pillars of democracy.

“Brown envelope journalism undermines the public’s trust in the media, erodes journalistic integrity, and defeats the media’s ability to play a transparent oversight role over government actions,” said the US Envoy.

According to the US Ambassador, access to accurate, unbiased information was critical to democracy.

“It ensures that citizens make responsible, informed choices rather than acting out of ignorance or misinformation.

“Information that is publicly accessible to all ensures that elected representatives uphold their oaths of office and carry out the wishes of those who elected them.”

She said that the Nigerian media could ensure that citizen voices were heard and this in turn, might help reverse voter apathy.

“Too often Nigerian elections are personality based and lose focus on critical issues such as unemployment, inflation, and lack of health care,” Leonard said, adding that the media could hold the candidates accountable for discussing issues.

In his speech, Mustapha Isah, President of the NGE, said one of the major roles of the media was agenda setting, adding that the more stories the media did on a particular subject, the more importance the audience would attach to it.

According to him, what is currently dominating headlines in the media on the 2023 general elections is zoning or power rotation.

“As the politicians talk about zoning, the media should remind them that citizens are more interested in the issues of development, education, insecurity, youth unemployment and poverty ravaging the nation.

“The media as a watchdog of society owes it as a duty to monitor governance and hold public office holders accountable to the people who elected them.” Isah said.

Human Rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), who was the guest speaker, said that Nigerian Editors had failed to ask pertinent questions while addressing topical issues that affected democracy in the country.

According to him, an assault on democracy can occur anywhere in the world and the political elite play a major role in the institutional degeneration.

Falana also urged Nigerian journalists to strengthen their disciplinary bodies in order to fish out and punish those who were bringing the profession into disrepute.

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