Yesterday, the Executive Director of National Film and Video Censors
Board (NFVCB), Adedayo Thomas advised youths against sharing hate
speeches, photos and inciting videos on social media platforms.
He gave the advice while delivering a speech at the “Safer Internet
Month” workshop organised by the board for youths in Benue from
February 11th to 12 at the Benue State University, Makurdi.
According to Thomas, there is urgent need to caution young Nigerians
against the dangers of generating and sharing fake news and provocative
motion pictures for the interest of national peace and unity. He noted
that many crisis in some parts of the country were escalated as a result
of fake news, hate speeches and videos spread on social media.
He added that “it is no longer news that digital technology has taken
over the world, therefore, we must urge our young people to shun
materials that can threaten national peace and co-existence.“The conference is borne out of the need for NFVCB, both as an
industry and a decision maker to build the capacity of youths who are
mostly the users of the internet. We want them to promote positive
contents and avoid sharing hate speeches on whatsApp, Fabook, twitter
and other social media platforms, especially during and after the 2019
general elections.“We all have a responsibility to ensure that the internet is not used
to promote what divide us, because our nation cannot develop in the
absence of tolerance and unity.”
The executive director noted that the trend of people receiving and
forwarding hate speeches and harmful contents without verifying the
authenticity was on the increase. He added that since the spread of news
on social media could not be restricted, there was need for people to
be educated on the implication of such news on society before spreading
them.
