There is no way we can know everything but at least, when it comes to social media, we know that the most harmful lies are disguised in slick but poisonous bottles of certainty – pushed by smiling charlatans pretending to be specialists. You see them mostly in dumbed-down videos with every inconvenient nuance edited out, just for one purpose – hitting maximum engagement. Take a bow, Aproko Doctor (Egemba Chinonso Fidelis), the country’s ‘sweet-talking’ medical micro-influencer, whose social media videos on TikTok and YouTube offer controversial advice in dangerously-funny ways that are designed to entrap his foolish followers. His latest ‘sermon’ on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is by far the best example of what you get when we allow questionable people remix medical advice for the attention economy.

Aproko Doctor’s social media content are obviously not just created to inform but also to perform by remixing complex science into bite-sized videos designed to sacrifice complexity and empirical rigour for entertainment and virality. The 14:11-video delivers its cleverly disguised message like a badly-prepared fast-food, and while pretending to be an attempt to present a balanced view, goes on to perform the oldest trick in the media business: rehashing dubious corporate-backed science as unbiased truth.

As amusing as this might be, the arguments rendered in the usual dramatised format he favours attempts to pass off dubious claims as expertise and that is where I think we should help his unsuspecting followers make sense of the danger he actually represents. For example, when he attempts to suggest that GMOs have been around for so long that they, therefore, are safe for human consumption, he is suggesting that once government agencies like the United States’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) speak, their voice should be the last word on any issue. Well, it is difficult to accept that the same government agency that approved opioids, should be the final authority when it comes to issues concerning what people eat. Also dubious is his suggestion that GMOs will help address food insecurity by improving yield, because corporations like Monsanto, now owned by Bayer, which have been leading the lobby for adoption of GMO seeds have been raking in billions in profit as global hunger worsens. His suggestion that opposition to GMOs amount to scaremongering has to be the height of illogical reasoning because he completely ignores the scientific basis on which some of the European countries have imposed bans. Instead, a man who claims to have studied medicine and therefore should have some respect for scientific evidence, appears to suggest that if you oppose the questionable, capitalist agenda behind GMO, then you must be superstitious peasant.

In doing so, he completely misses the point that where the bottom line is concerned, corporations have been wrong before and can be wrong again. Of course, in an attempt to earn – either through sponsorship or content monetisation – he unwittingly passes off “trust the science funded by the agribusiness lobby” for “trust the science.” In this, his followers deserve our sympathy, for they lack the discerning mind to see through his duplicity. I agree, the GMO video, like his other pieces of content, is a persuasive performance, perfectly fitting the specifications for the bite-sized content that platforms will push, and which helps to maintain high engagements. However, like all performances – especially in Nollywood – the story line lacks the finesse to match the fine editing and, therefore, exposes the absence of rigour.

For a start, maybe regulatory oversight should begin with things like mandatory disclaimers on dubious videos, especially where they offer ridiculous and oversimplified medical advice.

The digital space where the likes of Aproko Doctor operate is established on one well-drilled model: whatever you do, get traffic to your content because engagement is the currency. This growing space, we now know, rewards content creators like him who have mastered how to prioritise watch time, likes and shares over accuracy or nuance. Let’s be honest, in this space, a bite-sized video presented in Aproko Doctor’s usual dumbed-down style declaring “GMOs are safe!” will trump a boring but balanced discussion of risks because it is the way the ecosystem is designed to work. If this content of the GMO video suggest that we should go and verify his claim to being a trained doctor, at least we can all agree that he is smart enough to spice up his videos to improve engagement and monetisation. That a man is willing to sacrifice accuracy and his own reputation in desperation for engagement is, however, something difficult to understand. True, platform owners understand the game and are complicit in the distortions presented as authentic content such as the one in the GMO video. The ecosystem that reward such controversial content inadvertently creates a frightening environment where dumbed-down is not just the exception but the model for success.

The video claims the views expressed are those of the producer but when a so-called specialist selectively highlights some watered-down facts while ignoring scientific dissent, we have to suspect agenda setting. Observe that over 7 minutes (or 70% of runtime) is dedicated to push arguments supporting GMOs;  just 1:50 minutes (or 17% of runtime) to describing the risks and criticisms; and 1:27 minutes (or 13% of runtime is used to make the case of balance and make up your own mind whether this is anything but an agenda-setting piece of content.

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In deliberately framing his argument as settled in favour of GMOs, while ignoring peer-reviewed arguments about the worrying impact on people’s health; Akproko Doctor casts himself as both reporter and framer in this scientific discourse. In his embarrassing marketing of GMOs, he sounds like a man who is desperate to persuade his followers to believe him without sound evidence; in the process oversimplifying complex issues with potentially damaging public health implications.

The more sinister thing about this video is the shady attempt to disguise the blatant conversion of cultural capital into economic gain. So, the man had positioned himself as a specialist who cared for his followers health; with every doctor-in-lab-coat video aimed at building a “trust me, I’m a doctor” reputation. Then, boom, he reveals his true intention: to accumulate enough social credibility for monetisation even if it has to be by fronting questionable causes. Not that it comes as a surprise, media scholars having called attention to the fact that in this new environment of the attention economy, influence is the currency. He proves that for so-called influencers like him, followers and monetisation matter more than facts and credibility.

Social media is still largely unregulated in Nigeria and that is fine for all  of us who care about freedom of expression but when medical professionals begin to cross into the unsafe zone of doctoring scientific information for bite-sized videos, we have reasons to be genuinely concerned. The ecosystem that prioritises spectacle and conversion of credibility into clicks; and which have reshaped every aspect of life including Christian worship is attempting to dictate how Nigerians engage with medical information. When livestreamed Pentecostal worship meetings became YouTube’s top-earning content, it confirmed our worst fears that even the Church is not immune to platform logic. With Pentecostal Churches entranced by monetisation, Aproko Doctor’s GMO gospel should be seen as what it is: a crude get-rich-at-all-cost scheme disguised as professional advice. It is baffling that the Medical Council (MDCN) is rather too sluggish, and unwilling to police a sacred space but one in which we are seeing an increasing number of nurses and doctors moonlighting as content creators.

For a start, maybe regulatory oversight should begin with things like mandatory disclaimers on dubious videos, especially where they offer ridiculous and oversimplified medical advice. In case it does not exist already, the MDCN could also consider issuing guidelines to force moonlighting nurses and doctors to cites sources and disclose sponsorship. In the meantime, the public will do well to learn to treat every information from moonlighting medical professionals like Aproko Doctor like my generation did with those who hawked medicines they claimed could cure all ailments in Molues: Either ignore them or listen to them at your own risk.

For here is the issue: The problem is not just that these folks are peddling misinformation, they are symptomatic of the unwitting redesign of how we collectively evaluate truth. When sponsored compromised content creators have a field day setting agenda; when dubious influencers are allowed to dominate serious conversations such as those around public health; when the ecosystem rewards dumbed-down content over verifiable information; and when socio-cultural capital translates is easily converted to cash, we are not dealing with rotten videos but with terrible epistemology.

Think about it and you will realise that the fundamental question is not about whether or not GMOs are safe. Rather, what we are being forced to confront is the more troubling debate about the fate of complex truth in the attention economy that appears to value distortion for as long as they attract likes and shares. Of course, as Aproko Doctor’s clout across social media suggests, it seems the ecosystem has indicated where the bets are likely to be won.

It seems that in this new economy, even if it threatens public good, virality is prized over and above verifiable content – maybe until the day of reckoning. Only that by then, there is a big chance that the cruise-catching content creators and their ignorant followers would have moved on to the next controversy.

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The mavin star girl announced the milestone in a post on her Instagram fan page on Monday.

The landmark achievement is largely propelled by her hit single “Rush,” which alone has garnered over 458 million views, underscoring her growing global influence and the widespread appeal of her music.

The new feat has made the “Sability” crooner  join  Burna Boy, Wizkid, Rema, Davido  and Omah Lay as Nigerian artistes who have  surpassed a billion total views on Youtube.

Other artistes who  have also hit the one billion Youtube milestone include Kizz Daniel, Tekno, P-Square, Flavour, and Fireboy.

The 22-year-old singer also known as “sabi girl” has continued to grab both local and international accolades  since her debut in 2021.

Ayra was also on the list of the top most followed African Artistes on Spotify, with over 4.8 million followers on the streaming platform.

Her Grammy-nominated track ‘Rush’ has smashed over 450 million views, boosting her popularity and global reach.

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Earlier in May, she earned the  prestigious Platinum Certification in the United Kingdom for her hit single “Rush”,  for surpassing 600,000 units in combined sales and streams.

The hit song marked Ayra Starr’s debut on the UK Official Top 100, cementing  her growing  status as one of the most sought-after African music artiste in recent times.

She had earlier in 2023 earned a Diamond Certification in France for “Rush”, a song released in September, 2022, and quickly gained viral success, charting in the top ten across several countries.

The track’s massive popularity also contributed to Ayra Starr’s first Grammy nomination for Best African Music Performance at the 66th annual Grammy Awards.

“Rush” has also earned platinum status in Canada and New Zealand, and 3-time Platinum in Nigeria, demonstrating its widespread acclaim and commercial success.

Source: NAN

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The Nigerian media has a reputation for being rather ‘loud.’ Historically acknowledged as one of the most robust in Africa, the media has never shied away from any form of discourse no matter how controversial. The likes of West Africa Pilot, Lagos Weekly Record, The News and Tell were renowned for critical and investigative reporting that unsettled administrations. In fact, such was the fearless and controversial nature of the editorial approach of the Lagos Weekly Record, that John Jackson, who founded the paper in 1890 was said to have favoured ‘pungent criticism, expressed in lengthy editorials,” which bordered on the “edge of sedition”.

That’s a feature that seems to appeal to Nigerians of my generation, the most open-minded of whom grew up either waking up early to listen to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) or stopping by at newsstands to read major newspapers for a token. In those days, you would almost certainly know someone who could afford to buy newspapers and through whom you had access to copies that you then spent time reading. Such was the richness of the content in those days that I saved up to be able to buy the Newswatch or the Guardian to be able to read the likes of Dele Giwa, Ray Ekpu, Yakubu Mohammed and Olatunji Dare.

That tradition – of critical and sometimes, adversarial and controversial journalism – might be in retreat but the Nigerian media remains as boisterous as ever. Or it seems. Digital transformation has limited the impact of some legacy newspapers, with those who failed to embrace new media formats being the worst hit. The emergence of digital-born newspapers like Sahara Reporters, Premium Times and The Cable with the courage for aggressive reporting of the corporate and political elite has shaken up the industry in no small measure, the result being that new media formats are appealing to and serving Nigeria’s youthful population more effectively. The online traffic and digital communities commanded by these newspapers in their relatively short history might still be slightly behind those of some legacy organisations like the Punch and Vanguard; but taken together, the progress made by the digital-born newspapers confirm what we already know – that Nigerians are consuming media in new ways.

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In a country where over 75 per cent of the population is under 35, the appetite for either print editions of newspaper or the kind of stories and aggressive news reporting that established  West Africa Pilot, Lagos Weekly Record, The News and Tell may have been lost but not the interest in staying up-to-date with information, albeit of a different kind. If the historical appeal of the rigorous debates and long-form articles of the political nature in the media ended with the West Africa Pilot, Lagos Weekly Record, The News and Tell, another form  of truly engaging media content driven by storytelling is finding a home in podcasting. Thanks to the noise surrounding Nedu and The Honest Bunch Podcast, we at least know that young Nigerians can stay engaged for reasonable time if their kind of content is being served. It is difficult to ignore the embarrassing personal details around Nedu, his estranged friend, Martins Vincent Otse, a.k.a VeryDarMman, but I make an appeal. Please ignore those for the moment as we try to deal with the more serious issues here.

The concerns about the content and responsibility aside, my generation is right to worry about the long-time impact on a Gen Z that looks like it lacks the media literacy and a well-developed ability to critically filter what they hear from podcasts promoted by clout chasers.

Podcasting emerged from the shadows of radio in the early 2000s, aided by new technologies and digital cultures including MP3 players, free or low-cost audio production software, blogging. What started as amateur radio that allows producers to create content with some level of autonomy than what traditional broadcasting allowed expanded rapidly as listeners embraced the freedom to listen to content that suits their preferences. In Nigerian, that format has benefited from three major factors, two of which  help to explain why the recent noise around Nedu and his friends is symptomatic of more worrying issues about the media consumption patterns of Nigerian youths.

First, the telecoms reform under President Olusegun meant more Nigerians had access to relatively more affordable data and smartphones. As Nigeria’s telecoms reform was mobile-driven, more people started to consume media on the go. That flexibility and accessibility, allowing users to listen at their convenience was sure to benefit podcasting in the long run; radio being more structured around programming and scheduling, and therefore more restrictive.

Second, when it started a decade and a half ago, Nigerian podcasts used to be drab not because the producers were less creative. Today’s podcast producers are benefiting from a global trend of interests in video and the surging interest of Gen Zs in media consumption. On the one hand, the short video clips from episodes are being used as spreadable media across platforms like Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram, to drive traffic to YouTube. On the other, the increasing audience engagement on YouTube and the revenue from monetisation on the platform is allowing podcast producers to invest more in studio and equipment that improves quality.

Three, podcasting has also grown on the back of the relatively lower entry barriers than what would have been necessary in broadcasting, allowing content creators and producers to cater to a young audience eager for uncensored conversations. Looking at the lower entry barrier, the increasing participation of micro-celebrities in podcasting – something we began to notice just a few years back – makes sense, especially given their penchant for clout chasing.

As we have seen with the digital-born newspapers, the relatively lower entry barriers and the attraction of Gen Z to the format could either be a blessing or a curse. The obvious arguments for or against the podcasting we are now being served borders on their tendency to push the ethical boundaries of what is acceptable as good journalism. If podcasting had gone under radar in its nascent history, the most recent controversies around some of the more popular ones are suddenly forcing us to sit up and ask questions about content, responsibility, and their impact.

While many podcasts serve as educational and cultural platforms, and could therefore be used to reach a generation that lacks the discipline to maintain reasonable focus on anything serious, we have enough reasons to be worried. It is all right for podcasters to allow bold and personal stories but sensationalism should have its limits, even in a segment that is still a tiny part of the media ecosystem. Given the potential of this format to become a cultural influence especially among the young folks, we have to ask whether those viral moments designed to  shock serve any purpose aside from  boosting ratings. As we have seen with some recent developments, ‘sensational podcasting’ can produce grave consequences.

One example is the reported death of one guest on actress Biola Adebayo’s podcast, “Talk to B.” The young woman who appeared on that programme as expected on a podcast shared personal struggles, including unconventional sexual experiences but faced a backlash from a digital mob that hounded her until she was driven to commit suicide. Her experience – never mind the fact that the producers later claimed she faked her death – should be a reminder to content producers that podcasting goes beyond the ratings and the monetisation. In this case, would it have changed anything if the producer had the sense to arrange professional counselling for the guest? We may not know the answer but the point is – a young life ended after being hosted on a podcast where she allowed herself to be vulnerable. Nedu’s ouster from “The Honest Bunch Podcast” after comedian Deeone appeared as a guest and made those wild claims about the sexual orientation of VeryDarkMan, may yet cost him more than his job. The ‘noise’ from that edition and the embarrassment attached have hurt his reputation but the impact on his mental strength could be far more damaging.

The two examples raise an obvious question: as podcasting increases in popularity, where do we draw the line between open dialogue and harmful content. True, digital culture thrives on controversy and clout chasers are using the well-tested format to drive traffic to their podcasts. The danger as usual is that the young folks who are the most active listeners are not passive media consumers. The concerns about the content and responsibility aside, my generation is right to worry about the long-time impact on a Gen Z that looks like it lacks the media literacy and a well-developed ability to critically filter what they hear from podcasts promoted by clout chasers. Whether we can leave the responsibility of maintaining quality, credibility, and ethical standards remains in the hands of content creators driven solely by the monetisation craze is open to question but we definitely have to find a way to limit avoidable deaths like that of the guest on Biola Adebayo’s podcast.

*Dr. Olaniyan is the Convener, Centre for Social Media Research, Lagos.

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Zukerberg makes huge amount of money from the three media platforms through advertisements, and he gives back part of the money to those with large followers who create content that get people entertained on those platforms, but to earn the money, the content must be original and it must appeal to a wide audience.

Some Nigerians, especially the youths, are making huge sums of money creating contents on several social media platforms. But since the July 1st monetization of content on Facebook, the desperation to get a chunk of the Megabox is now driving many desperate skit makers and content creators to do the unthinkable.

Just last week, a short video posted on Facebook went viral after a woman, later identified as Favour Igiebor, tore what looked like the International Passport of her husband upon their return to Nigeria from Italy. Many Nigerians were shocked that a woman could go to such an extent to embarrass her husband publicly and they called for her arrest. Many rightly believed that the passport she tore was a government property.

Following so much noise from many angry Nigerians, the Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service, Mrs. Kemi Nandap, was forced to issue a statement, assuring members of the public that the matter would be investigated. According to the statement: “The individual has been identified and invited for further investigation. If the allegations are substantiated, her actions would have constituted a breach of Section 10(b) of the Immigration Act 2015 (as amended), with corresponding penalties outlined under Section 10(h) of the same Act.”

Within 24 hours, Igiebor was arrested and flown to Abuja. But the husband came out immediately the wife was picked up to inform Nigerians that the Airport drama was a skit and that his passport was intact. The whole idea was conceived by the family as a skit through which they believed that they would trend and thereby, increase their followership on Facebook and earn money from Zukerberg.

Skit-making, content creation, and playing pranks on others to make people laugh or gain viewership have become the new oil-well for Nigerian youths where they make as much as millions of Naira every month. Even before Facebook approved the monitisation policy for Nigerian and Ghanaian skit makers in July, other social platforms such as Tiktok, Instagram and YouTube have been money spinners for most of our youths who are into the trade.

In its report titled: ‘Skit Economy: An Assessment of Digital Content Creators in Nigeria’, the African Polling Institute (API) submitted that skits were useful in creating awareness about social trends. While 83 per cent of respondents identified the role of skits in correcting societal ills, 90 per cent acknowledged the potential of skits for employment generation in Nigeria.

One of the most popular skit makers in the country, Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Ejekiru, popularly known as Mr. Sabinus, admitted that making money on social media had gone beyond Instagram and Facebook platforms and has become a money spinner for him and several others. “Right now, I can boldly say TikTok is pulling it much more than Instagram. We have a YouTube audience, too. Instagram is just the main platform, because you get to meet the audience there, but there’s a massive audience on Facebook.” Little wonder, it’s bursting at the seams at the moment. Creating content, he added, has become so lucrative on YouTube that content creators now earn roughly N15 to N20 million every month.

Sabinus’ revelation seems to be a timely answer to those investigating the opulent lifestyles of Nigerian skit comedians. Painting a broader picture, he said: “Facebook is the only one that is even monetised, not even Instagram. And YouTube is monetised. So, if Instagram is no longer available, I still have Facebook, which will pay me, and YouTube, which will also pay me. So, content creation is right now for me, a career. It’s helped so many people.”

First gaining prominence in 2015, skit-makers have continued to boom, with unprecedented collaboration between actors, comedians and those in the entertainment industry.

With the creative economy increasingly contributing to the Gross Domestic Product of the country, as multiple reports and statistics attest, the Nigerian skit-making industry is not only flourishing, but redefining the landscape of entertainment.

The COVID-19 pandemic served as a catalyst for the exponential growth and attention garnered by Nigerian skit-makers as the total lockdown necessitated innovative forms of entertainment. Skit-makers seized the opportunity, devising new ways to captivate audiences through collaborations that featured prominent actors and musicians.

According to Dataleum, a global talent accelerator, skit-making ranks as the third-largest entertainment industry in Nigeria, with a net worth surpassing ₦50 billion ($31.2 million). The industry now doubles as a source of amusement and a substantial source of employment. As noted by the Africa Polling Institute (API); 90% of Nigerians polled viewed comedy skits as a viable means of employment, highlighting the industry’s socio-economic impact.

Shortly before he left office, former Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, said Nigeria’s creative industry was positioned as the second largest employer with a potential to produce 2.7 million new jobs by 2025. He said: “After agricultural, the creative sector is the second largest employer of labour in Nigeria today.”

Worldwide, the creative economy is estimated to be worth $985 billion with no signs of slowing down. G20 Insights has predicted that the creative economy could account for 10% of global GDP by 2030, and Deloitte hinted that up to 40 per cent growth in creative sectors would be witnessed by 2030.

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In a bid to earn big, many upcoming skit makers in Nigeria are now creating skits, content and pranks that are dangerous to themselves and to fellow Nigerians. In the process of making a short skit, a young skit maker known as Churchill lost his life while filming a stunt as part of a video content for his fans in January. Churchill, who was still a student of Nasarawa State University, ended up slamming his head on the ground, which eventually led to his death.

If Igiebor is eventually taught a lesson by the Immigration, whether what she tore was the original passport of her husband or not, other skit makers would develop brain on the kind of skits and contents they can post on social media.

Barely a week after Churchill’s accident, two young ladies also reportedly drowned while filming a skit in Delta State. The unfortunate incident occurred on Saturday, January 20th, when the two girls decided to visit a river in Second Amekpa, Ekiugbo-Ughelli community in  Ughelli North Local Government Area of the state to perform and record a stunt which they intended to upload on social media. The last word that was heard from one of the ladies before gesturing to her friend to join her in the river was “My daughter, come, come, come, let me initiate you. Mami water, I say come.” Her friend later joined her in the water and that was the last time they were seen as they were swept away by the water’s current. The footage was recorded and later posted on Instagram by one of their friends known as Goodluck. The corpse of the two ladies were recovered few days later.

Skit-makers and pranksters, if they are not endangering their own life for show, are putting the life of their fellow citizens at great risk. In June last year, a popular Ibadan-based skit maker, Abdullahi Adisa, popularly known as Trinity Guy, released a skit video in which he pranked unsuspecting people. In one of the videos, Adisa could be seen begging an unseen person not to kill him as passersby approached. As the passersby got close enough, the prankster’s pleas were followed by sounds of gunshots, which made him fall to the ground, playing dead. This frightened some passersby and forced them to flee in different directions, with some even tripping and falling on one another. In another scene of the same video, Adisa was seen running to a woman in an uncompleted building to take shelter, claiming a group of bad people were after his life. Another scene showed where he stood before a stranger and asked for his manhood, the confused man ran for his dear life before he started shouting for help. Adisa was seen continuously harassing the man by running after him and threatening to shoot him. He met his waterloo when he recorded an inappropriate video with a young girl which led to him being arrested and detained by the police.

Another 19-year-old Lagos-based comedian, Eyinatayo Iluyomade was arrested and charged to court for playing a prank on innocent Nigerians. The skit maker had dropped a threat note of his intention to rob a bank in Ondo town, on August 12, 2022. In the note, he wrote, ‘We are coming to rob, and there’s nothing your police can do’. That was a mad move, considering the insecurity situation in Nigeria and Ondo State as at that time. On the day he and his ‘gang’ threatened to strike in Ondo, not a single Bank opened for business. Prank or no prank, he was arrested by the police and charged to court.

In a bid to make money through skit-making, many of those in the trade have thrown caution to the winds all in an effort to get a chunk of Zukerberg’s money. From the sublime to the ridiculous, many of the skit makers now openly reveal their private parts, daring to be bold and reckless in their actions to qualify for a piece of the Zukerberg’s pie. Consequently, “challenges” began popping up on TikTok. These were wild stunts performed by users and when these videos went viral, they prompted other users to follow suit. Many have died while doing those stunts.

One of the earliest stunt challenges to appear on the app was known as the ‘milk crate challenge’, which involved people stacking crates as high as they could and trying to climb on them without falling. Of course many fell, losing limbs in the process.

The Police have on several occasions warned skit-makers to be mindful of the kind of contents that they post on social media. Muyiwa Adejobi, the Force Spokesperson, said that the Force would continue to encourage positive creativity amongst the youthful populace but urged content creators to use social media responsibly and in a positive manner.

That should be one of the major challenges facing Michael Nwabufo, also known as Mike Premium, who was recently elected President of The Practitioners of Content Creation, Skit Making, and Influencers’ Guild Of Nigeria.

The Association should, as a matter of urgency, get most of the skit makers and content creators on board and organise seminars and peer-review their activities so that dangerous skits and contents won’t find their way to the social media space.

If they fail to review the activities of their members, the National Film and Video Censures Board may have to be more proactive in ensuring that skits and contents that could promote violence, rubbish the image of the country, or pose a danger to people never find their way to our social media space. If Igiebor is eventually taught a lesson by the Immigration, whether what she tore was the original passport of her husband or not, other skit makers would develop brain on the kind of skits and contents they can post on social media.

Indeed, the desperation for Zukerberg’s money is real.

See you next week.

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Alex Okosi, Managing Director, Emerging Markets, YouTube EMEA, said in a statement that the initiative from YouTube was a follow-up to a global, multi-year commitment made in 2020.

Okosi said that the grant was intended to uplift and grow Black creators, artists, songwriters, and producers on the platform.

According to him, YouTube is seriously interested in the growth of the creative community in Africa.

He said that for the creators, artists, songwriters and producers that would be joining this third cohort, it would go beyond the initial training to measure success with them over a long-term period.

Okosi also stated that it would ensure that the creators achieved sustained success.

He said that 40 creators from Sub-Saharan Africa would be part of the 135 #YouTubeBlack Voices Creators selected globally that enrolled into the cohort.

He said that among the 23 #YouTubeBlack Voices Artists selected for the programme were African fast-rising musical artists, Gyakie from Ghana, Kamo Mphela from South Africa, Asake from Nigeria and BNXN from Nigeria.

He said, “As support from YouTube, grantees will receive $20,000 and $50,000 as seed funding.”

Okosi said that they would receive dedicated partner support for six months and have the opportunity to participate in programmes including bespoke training, workshops and networking programmes spread out across the year.

“We are excited about the creators, musical artists and producers from Africa joining others from across the world in the 2023 #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund.

“The initiative is dedicated to equipping up-and-coming Black creators and artists with the resources to succeed on our platform,” he said.

According to him, the cohort will also include Hip Hop producer MashBeatz from South Africa and Nairobi-based producer Ukweli, who will be joining 17 #YouTubeBlack Voices Songwriters and Producers globally.

Okosi said that the artists, songwriters, and producers joining the #YouTubeBlack Voices Music Class of 2023 would be required to set goals, develop content strategy, and engage with their fans on YouTube, with the assistance of a YouTube partner manager.

According to him, there will be networking opportunities with other artists, songwriters, and producers included in the #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund.

Okosi said that there would also be a chance to maximise the impact of their channels as they provide catalogue-development opportunities.

He said that over the next few years, YouTube would be directly investing in more than 500 creators and artists from across the world.

“It is to support, grow, and fund their channels and content development through the #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund.”

Source: NAN

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A rights body filed a complaint after reviewing at least seven videos showing the preacher conducting prayers to “cure” gay people.

Facebook has also removed at least one of the offending posts showing a woman being slapped while TB Joshua says he is casting out a “demonic spirit”.

The preacher said he was appealing against YouTube’s decision.

His YouTube account had 1.8 million subscribers.

TB Joshua is one of Africa’s most influential evangelists, with top politicians from across the continent among his followers.

Why was the account closed?

UK-based openDemocracy filed a complaint after reviewing seven videos posted on TB Joshua Ministries’ YouTube channel between 2016 and 2020, which show the preacher conducting prayers to “cure” gay people.

A YouTube spokesperson told openDemocracy that the channel had been closed because its policy “prohibits content which alleges that someone is mentally ill, diseased, or inferior because of their membership in a protected group including sexual orientation”.

A post on TB Joshua Ministries Facebook account said: “We have had a long and fruitful relationship with YouTube and believe this decision was made in haste.”

What does the video show?

The video is an update of a prayer session of a woman called Okoye, first broadcast in 2018.

In it TB Joshua slaps and pushes Okoye and an unnamed woman at least 16 times and tells Okoye: “There is a spirit disturbing you. She has transplanted herself into you. It is the spirit of woman,” openDemocracy reports.

The video which was viewed more than 1.5 million before the YouTube channel was taken down, later shows her testifying before the congregation that “the spirit of woman” had been destroying her life but she had been healed after the preacher’s prayers.

She declares that she had stopped having “affection” to women and “now I have affections for men”.

Who is TB Joshua?

The founder of the Synagogue, Church of All Nations is one of Nigeria’s most popular televangelists but is perhaps the least flamboyant of his peers.

Tens of thousands of people attend his weekly services in Nigeria’s biggest city, Lagos.

His rise to prominence in the late 1990s coincided with the explosion of “miracle” programmes performed on national TV by various pastors.

TB Joshua was often mocked for lacking the finesse of his colleagues during “deliverance” sessions – an intense prayer that resembles exorcism.

His ministry professes to heal all manner of illnesses including HIV/Aids and attracts people from all over the world.

Known as the “Prophet” by his followers, Mr Joshua runs the Christian television station Emmanuel TV and often tours Africa, the US, the UK and South America.

In 2014, one of his churches collapsed, killing at least 116 people, including many South Africans.

A coroner in a Lagos court said “the church was culpable because of criminal negligence” but he never faced any charges.

Is this the first time he’s been banned?

No.

In May 2004 the National Broadcasting Commission banned TV stations from showing programmes of pastors performing miracles on television unless they had been verified.

There were accusations that some of the miracles were fake and performed by actors.

TV stations pulled the pastors’ programmes to avoid having their licences revoked or being hit by fines from the NBC.

But as free-to-air satellite boxes became affordable and popular in many Nigerian homes, the televangelists set up broadcast facilities and continued with their “miracle” programmes.

They broadcast with state-of-the-art facilities and have dedicated channels on major satellite TV providers in Africa, showing activities of the churches and pastors non-stop.

Though was still under the NBC’s purview, they were mostly allowed to carry on.

Source: BBC

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