The Presidency has advised that purveyors of fake news will not achieve their pernicious goals if Nigerians are discriminatory about what they accept as credible information, and restrain themselves from sharing what they have not authenticated as genuine.
The advice from the Presidency was issued on Monday by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina.
In a brief statement warning Nigerians to beware of peddlers of fake news, the Presidency debunked a report which it said had been making the round about a fake itinerary of the president.
The statement reads:
Beware, merchants of fake news on the prowl – presidency
Purveyors of fake and concocted Information are currently on overdrive, and Nigerians are urged to be careful what they consume as news, and also share with others, particularly from the social media.
An unfounded information has been making the rounds that President Muhammadu Buhari is billed to travel to the United Kingdom for 20 days, and from there proceed to Saudi Arabia, and then Austria. Fake. It is nothing but falsehood from mischievous minds.
Members of the First Family, Ministers, top government officials, the military, and other key institutions, are equally objects of this orchestrated falsehood, coming from enemies of national cohesion.
We urge Nigerians to be discriminatory about what they accept as credible information, and restrain themselves from sharing what they have not authenticated as genuine. That is how we can all collectively beat the malevolent minds at their pernicious games.
