Fake news should be criminalized, says Soyinka

The peddlers of fake news should be treated as criminals, Nigeria’s Nobel laureate,Wole Soyinka said on Wednesday.

At an event holding now in Abuja Organised by the BBC News, Soyinka who featured as a panelist said those who create fake news are “sick in the head and cowards.”

The event is titled: Nigeria 2019: Countering Fake News, following the obvious dangers posed by the rising rate of fake information in the country, particularly as election draws closer.

He particularly raised the concerns that fake news, especially in an election period has the capacity of creating huge chaos and that the menace must be tackled as quickly as possible.

“Fake news is a very serious issue we ate dealing with right now,” the professor stated.

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Citing examples where fake stories had been cretaed and attributed to him, as well as socila media sites created in his name and official llogo to extort ad defraud unsuspecting public, Soyinka said technology has catapulted the fake news phenomenon and that technology should also be used to counter it.

Details soon. …

Onyinye Nwachukwu, Abuja

Onyinye Nwachukwu is the Abuja Bureau Chief of BusinessDay, overseeing coverage across Abuja and Northern Nigeria. With more than two decades of experience in economic and financial journalism, she reports on business, policy, and market trends, linking local developments to the global economy. A fellow of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and recipient of the P. Vishwanathan Memorial Award for Excellence in Financial Journalism, she is known for her insightful storytelling and interviews with senior policymakers, diplomats, and business leaders. Well traveled and globally minded, Onyinye brings depth and international perspective to her reporting.