Nigerian students have been admonished not to allow their emotions to push them to spreading fake news.
A lecturer in the department of Mass Communication, Eseple Berger University, Cotonou, Benin Republic, Mr Charles Adewale, gave this admonition during a seminar organised by the Association of Student Communicators (ASCOM), at M3/M4 hall of the institution.
Speaking on the theme of the seminar, “The New Media and the Dangers of Fake, Unverified News,” Adewale enjoined the students not to share news which source they are not sure of.
He urged the students to check traditional media platforms for confirmation before sharing any information and not just share stories based on their emotions.
“If you see bad news about someone you hate or someone you have grudges with, don’t rush to share the news because you’re happy about such a person’s downfall or misfortune. Rather, check if the information is coming from a reliable source and not just any blog,” Adewale warned.
He maintained that it was better not to share news that has not been verified, noting that if found to be fake; it would be hard to reach the same population that had earlier viewed the news.
“Do not share at all,” he emphasized.
Speaking in the same vein, a former Mass Communication student of the university, Miss Rukayat Mudashiru likened the spreading of news later confirmed to be fake to squeezing a clean plain sheet of paper and attempting to straighten it back.
“The paper does not take the formal clean and neat shape it has before. This is what spreading fake news does to people who are the subject of the news,” Mudashiru said.
She advised cub journalists and other students present at the occasion not to be quick to judge the subject of fake news without hearing their own side of the story.
Mudashiru listed some of the dangers of spreading fake unverified news to include: damaging of reputation, unintended war, death, disunity among others.
Speaking during the empowerment section of the event, Rukayat Mudashiru and another ex-student, Miss Olaoluwa Adegbite emphasised the importance of financial education, stating that schooling is important but not enough.
She also encouraged students to re-programme their mindset for 21st century business, noting that students should have their meal ticket even while still in school.
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