Writing By Teddy Daniel; Editing By Yusuf Zubairu
The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) West Africa says the rising wave of misinformation and hate speech poses a growing threat to social cohesion in the country, insisting that journalists must strengthen verification and ethical reporting to curb the trend.
At the closing ceremony of a two day capacity building training for over 115 journalists in Kaduna, a CDD Assistant Programme officer, Mr Raji Abdulaziz Olatunji, said the intervention aims at boosting public resilience against false narratives and politically driven online manipulation.
Mr Abdulaziz Olatunji explained that although the programme initially targeted 90 participants, the turnout exceeded expectations, with 70 journalists attending on the first day and 45 on the second.
He noted that the training covered fact checking techniques, verification tools and ethical standards, adding that many citizens fall victim to manipulated content due to low awareness, political bias and weak critical thinking skills.
According to him, disinformation actors often exploit social media platforms such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and WhatsApp, as well as gaps in timely or clear government communication, to spread falsehoods and incite emotions.
Mr. Olatunji urged journalists and content creators to prioritise accuracy over speed as it is better to be patient and get everything right than to rush to break a story and get it wrong.
He reaffirmed CDD’s continued commitment to strengthening credible information ecosystems across the country
