One of the interesting panels I had the opportunity of sitting in on during the just concluded Social Media Week Lagos was titled Truth Don Die; Is Social Media the problem with Public Discourse?
Powered by the Nigerian Working Group, the panel was anchored by Stanley Azuakola and had as panelists Anthony Osae-Brown, Editor of BusinessDay Newspaper; Tolu Ogunlesi, Special Assistant on Digital/New media to President Buhari; Chidinma Akaniro, a Writer and Business Consultant and Simbo Olorunfemi, a Poet and Journalist.
Pitting the traditional news media against the immediacy and spontaneity of the digital world, it is safe to say that there is a drastic shift in the way news spreads and the genuineness of the information disseminated in today’s world.
And this is not a Nigerian thing. Worldwide, countries and governments are fighting the spread of fake news and how fast the same is disseminated to the unsuspecting public via social media platforms.
Typically, someone sits in front of his television set at home or by his radio and gets wind of a happening in a part of the world or within the country.
Without more insight into the happening or the gathering of fact, they form an opinion of the matter, type up a lengthy prose or create a one-minute video or even design a pictogram and with the click of a button, publish same to millions of people on the internet.
Subsequently, same information is re-shared and re-tweeted countless times till it goes viral.
Like the panel discussion emphasized, one of the major issues with social media and public discuss is the fact that information is generated by amateurs, non-professionals or people with an opinion of an issue and portrayed as if coming from a place of authority and fact.
Public figures, who have large social media followings may also assume such position and use their platform to provide false or incomplete information to a large number of people at a time.
Sadly, the traditional media since suffering from reduced patronage with the rise in internet usage is constantly in a race against time to catch up with the speed at which information spreads online via social media.
Tolu Ogunlesi argued that there are laws against the antagonistic information on social media with the purpose of hurting and tarnishing the image of an individual, or government in Nigeria.
Are these laws effectively implemented? We cannot boldly say that they are.
Away from the disseminating of false news stories is the problem of accepting and sharing controversial opinions publicly on social media platforms. Chidimma argues that the new age of social media discuss only supports narcissist beliefs and ideas that fight for autonomy and are adverse to input or objection from any and every one.
Is social media the problem with public discourse? No, but I believe it has amplified the problem with public discourse as it pertains to our country. On social media, everyone is a newscaster and an authority on one subject or the other.
While we may be unable to stop anyone who has a smart device and internet access the opportunity to share personal views and opinions on their public accounts on social media, these laws that check the extent to which freedom of speech and writing on social media must begin to be implemented.
Government agencies and institutions will also do well to get active on social media and counteract the spread of half-baked information with timely information and updates on happenings in the federal, state and local government levels.
Currently, it is easy to follow proceedings in a senate sitting from the official twitter handle of the senate.
Anna Quindlen once said; Ignorant free speech often works against the speaker. That is one of the reasons it must be given rein instead of suppressed.
