Says it’s fake news
Presidential spokesman Femi Adesina has faulted reports that the aircraft on which President Muhammadu Buhari recently travelled to the United States developed fault mid-air.
Adesina described the reports published on some online platforms as an example of fake news that has become a major vice and threat to information dissemination in the country.
It didnt happen. I was on that flight. We took off from New York, went straight to Santa Maria, in Portugal, where we refueled and flew straight to Nigeria. Where is the mishap? It is a lie. It never happenedDo you know the number of people that have been misled by this fake news?
Fake news is a problem, not only to Nigeria but to the whole world. The traditional media should be careful of fake news because we must first have a country before digital media can be useful to us.
We must not allow digital media to be used to destroy our country. Digital media is good, but there is evil embedded in it,
Adesina further said.
The presidential spokesman, who said he has been a victim of fake news on many occasions, spoke in Abuja yesterday, at the public presentation of a book, titled: 101 fake news on #EndSARS, a publication of PRNigeria, authored by a journalist, Dahiru Lawal.
Adesina, who cited instances where his views were misrepresented by purveyors of fake news, expressed disappointment that members of the Yoruba group, Afenifere allowed themselves to be misled by fake news about his recent comparison between Buhari and some past political leaders.
He advised that the traditional media and professional journalists must be more careful because the digital media appear to be dictating the pace while the traditional media now rely on them.
Adesina, who noted that fake news was instrumental to the EndSARS protest and the massive destruction witnessed, said the problem would be more pronounced as the 2023 general elections draw close.
The presidential spokesman, who urged all to be vigilant, praised those behind the book for the initiative.
The media aide to the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, Dr. Umar Gwandu, noted that fake news is always intended to cause harm.
Gwandu urged professional journalists not to allow quacks to take the lead and dictate the pace of information dissemination because doing so will be a disservice to the country.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PRNigeria, Yushau Shu’aib, who reviewed the 207-page book, said it was intended to highlight the threat fake news poses to societal peace and security.
