Demographic Data
Nigeria has 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. Participants in this study were drawn from different states that make up the six geo-political zones of Nigeria. They were all identified by gender, occupation, states of origin, and states of residence, because not everyone stays in their states of origin, and not all of them are in Nigeria.
Three of them (Figure 1), all health professionals, stay outside Nigeria—Washington, New York, and Australia.
Table 1.
Geopolitical Distribution of Participants
SN |
GEO-POLITICAL ZONES |
NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS |
MALE |
FEMALE |
1 |
South East |
5 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
North West |
1 |
|
1 |
3 |
South West |
3 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
North Central |
4 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
South South |
13 |
5 |
8 |
6 |
North East |
1 |
|
1 |
7 |
Diaspora |
3 |
|
3 |
TOTAL |
|
30 |
12 |
18 |
In all, 18 females and 12 males participated in the study.
Table 2.
Occupational Distribution of Participants
SN |
Medics |
Journalists |
Business |
Public Servants |
Students |
Marketers |
TOTAL |
1 |
7 |
7 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
2 |
30 |
2 |
23.3% |
23.3% |
16.7% |
16.7% |
13.3% |
6.7% |
100% |
Seven of the participants were medical professionals including medical doctors, nurses, and physiotherapists (Figure 2). Another seven were journalists, while five were businessmen and women. Five public servants were also interviewed, while the number of students was four, in addition to two media marketing executives. All participants fell within the age bracket of between 26 and 60 years. Twenty-seven of the 30 participants are active on social media, particularly on Facebook and WhatsApp.
When asked about their knowledge of the terms “fake news” and “misinformation,” every participant agreed that fake news or misinformation exists. However, not all could draw a line between the nuances of fake news and misinformation. Twenty-three participants defined fake news or misinformation as false news. Others believe fake news or misinformation are unconfirmed or unverified media reports. One of the participants said that fake news is false or misleading information presented as news and that fake news could sometimes be described as sensational news designed to hoodwink the unsuspecting public into believing what is not true, and it could damage the reputation of an individual or institution.
Another participant described fake news as wrong information deliberately created and shared to mislead, deceive, or cause confusion among people. She said there are times when fake news stems from ignorance, that is people create or stumble on them and spread them without fact-checking or verifying. She noted that fake news is real and can cause a lot of havoc in any society if it is not checked. Asked whether they experienced fake news before COVID-19, most of the participants (25) said they were either closely or remotely affected by fake news. One participant cited a report about the killing of a mass communication student at a school in Southern Kaduna in Nigeria, during one of several crises in the state. The news turned out to be untrue.
Some of the interviewees mentioned their fake news experiences since the outbreak of COVID-19, particularly during the lockdown. One of them explained that several misleading news, and video and photoshopped images were deliberately shared, most times by unsuspecting members of the society. She disclosed she was careful not to be caught because of the likely consequences, which misleading and unverifiable information caused. She recalled voice notes of people denouncing COVID-19 and in some cases spreading unverifiable stories of cure or avoidance that were not scientifically proven.
Other participants denied experiencing the negative impacts of fake news since the emergence of COVID-19.
Most of the participants blamed the medium and the content for fake news. They believe that anything called news that appears on social media is unreliable. Nineteen of the 30 participants agree with McLuhan (1964) that the medium is the message — the medium shapes or determines the credibility of the message. It was their opinion that social media platforms are not credible news media since information published there does not always qualify as news. On the question of how to confirm whether the news is fake, participants were not unanimous on how they were able to establish the truth of what they read on social media. Some of the discussants said they discovered that the information they were exposed to on COVID-19 was fake when Nigeria started recording numerous cases of affected persons. That was when it became clear to them that COVID-19 was real.
On the question of having knowledge of specific COVID-19 havoc caused by fake news, not all of the participants said they had experienced any such havoc. One participant stated that a friend’s husband was misled into believing that COVID-19 did not exist until the man died out of negligence. Another participant, a student, expressed regrets that one of her friends who was infected by the virus died. She said that people were made to believe that there was nothing like COVID-19 and that it was all an attempt by politicians to continue to embezzle public funds, whilst hiding under the cover of finding solutions to a non-existing virus attack.
This research discovered that one of the misleading information was that COVID-19 was caused by 5G, popularized by a celebrated Nigerian preacher, left several persons, especially worshippers in that particular faith, convinced that vaccination was unhealthy and demonic. Such information had a negative effect on the general fight against COVID-19 and its spread. It also led to casualties with reported loss of lives. Four participants said they lost people because of fake or misinformation on COVID-19, and another four had people who suffered severe depression and anxiety. On the question of which social media platform had the highest rate of fake news within this period, the answer was almost unanimous. An astonishing 28 participants mentioned Facebook and bloggers as the chief carriers of fake news.
Most of the participants confirmed that before the proliferation of social media, they relied mainly on newspapers for their news. They had to switch over when newspapers became expensive and the social media was offering what they considered to be free news, which turned out to be fake. Others said they depended on television and radio. The remaining seven people depended on other sources. On the question of what could motivate the publication of fake news on COVID-19, various reasons were cited by the participants. Some said people publish fake news to create traffic on their platforms to enhance advertising revenue, enforce their positions on certain issues, discredit other people’s positions, subtly create fear and panic and reap profits from it, and for political reasons. Other participants observed that fake news is published to generate likes, comments, and shares, which make the sites, channels, or pages of such publishers popular, promote a biased point of view, deliberately mislead the audience, and destroy the reputation of others.
Further explanation by other participants was that fake news is disseminated to make people believe, think, and act in a particular way. It is calculated to manipulate the thoughts and actions of people on an issue or subject matter. It could be sponsored by an individual or group. In all, 13 participants believed that fake news operators do so for economic reasons. That is, the more fake news they write about COVID-19, the more traffic they draw to their sites, and the more advertisers they attract. Seven participants even think that governments also sponsor fake news whenever they want to cover up some policy gaffes. They argued that fake news is used as situational convenience and is mostly skewed for personal purposes since people who read them are immediately made to believe them without questioning.
On the question of the major sources of news, participants pointed to social media. Participants describe the mainstream media as being more ethical and professional. In all, 24 participants affirmed that they still read newspapers, watch television, and listen to the radio. This raised the question of their continuous confidence or faith in the credibility of the mass media, with specific reference to the traditional media. Participants stated their continuous faith in the traditional mass media. All 28 participants declared their faith in the mainstream media, in contrast to social media.
The last question was on how to tame fake news. Among the participants, seven called for sanctions that would not infringe on freedom of expression, another seven called for regulations by professional bodies. Such regulations, they believed, would stop quacks from parading as journalists. Six participants were in favor of sensitization and enlightenment among media consumers and advertisers. Generally, participants believed that when fake news operators run out of patronage from readers and advertisers, they will close shops.