Lai Mohammed
The Federal Government on Thursday reiterated its resolve to sanitize the use of social media in Nigeria.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed disclosed that
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved measures to rid the airwaves of
fake news and hate speech.
Mohammed disclosed that the recommendations approved by the president
include the independence of the broadcast regulators from all forms of
interference, an upward review of fines for media houses from N500,000
to N5,000,000 for breaches relating to hate speeches, inciting comments
and indecency.
The Minister made the disclosure at the 2019 Federal Radio Corporation
of Nigeria, FRCN, annual titled: ”Extremism: A Threat To National Unity”
in Abuja.
According to Mohammed: “Last July, we launched the National Campaign
on Fake News and Hate Speech, and we have recently upped the ante by
moving ahead to inject sanity into our broadcast industry. The power of
radio and television, including their wide reach, means that we should
not allow extremists to turn these powerful media platforms into a
catalyst for conflict.
“Mr. President has graciously approved our recommendations to rid our
airwaves of fake news and hate speech, especially coming on the heels of
the unprofessional and unethical conduct of some broadcast stations
before and during the last general elections.
“The recommendations include the independence of the broadcast
regulators, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), from political
interference in the exercise of its regulatory powers; A review of the
National Broadcasting Code and extant broadcasting laws to reflect some
amendments, including upward review of fines from N500,000 to N5,000,000
for breaches relating to hate speeches, inciting comments and
indecency.
“Wilful repeat of infractions on three occasions after levying fine on a
station will attract suspension of license, while the breach of
political comments relating to hate speeches and divisive comments has
been upgraded to ”Class A” offence in the Broadcasting Code.
“I have since set up an implementation committee on the recommendations,
and when the committee concludes its work, we will begin the
implementation without delay. We will then move on to work out the
modalities for injecting sanity into the Social Media space, which some
extremists have turned to a platform for disseminating fake news and
hate speech which, like I said, are dangerous tools in the hands of
extremists.
“Since announcing our plan to sanitize both the broadcast industry and
the Social Media, there have been varying reactions from Nigerians. I
must say this is welcome. It’s exactly what we want: National discourse
on the responsible use of the airwaves and the social media. But, for
the umpteenth time, I want to say that responsible and ethical
journalists, and indeed all patriots, have nothing to fear.
“Only anarchists and non-patriots, the purveyors of fake news and hate
speech, need to worry. This Administration has no intention to gag the
media or stifle free speech, but it also won’t sit by and allow hate
speech to become free speech.
“As I have said at many fora, no responsible government will sit by and
allow fake news and hate speech to dominate its media space, because of
the capacity of this menace to exploit our national fault lines to
endanger our national unity. So, while we welcome the support of most
Nigerians who have reached out to us on the need to clean up the
airwaves and the social media, we also note the criticism of those who
oppose our efforts.
“Make no mistake, however, we are committed to ensuring a responsible and ethical use of our airwaves and the social media.”