Civil society organisations (CSOs) in Nigeria have called on media professionals globally to shun reportage of misleading and fake news.
The CSOs, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Transparency International (TI), urged media houses in all countries of the world to rather complement efforts in the fight against fake news and misinformation to enhance good governance and accountability.
The executive director of CISLAC and TI, Auwal Rafsanjani, who disclosed this in a chat with LEADERSHIP yesterday in Abuja was reacting to the resolution by Fox News on Tuesday to pay $787.5 million for a defamation suit filed by Dominion Voting Systems over the network's promotion of misinformation about the 2020 election.Rafsanjani said media houses must ensure that their news are verified and avert publishing fake news.
The 11th-hour agreement avert a lengthy and embarrassing trial just as a packed courtroom was seated in anticipation of hearing opening statements.
The settlement spares Fox a trial that would have gone on for weeks and put many of the company's most prominent figures -- from the media mogul Rupert Murdoch to hosts like Tucker Carlson and Maria Bartiromo -- on the stand.
This is even as the settlement is one of the largest ever in a defamation case. It is also the latest extraordinary twist in a case that has been full of remarkable disclosures that exposed the inner workings of the most powerful voice in conservative news.
In addition to the huge financial price, Dominion exacted a difficult admission from Fox News, which acknowledged in a statement that "certain claims" it made about Dominion were false.
It said the suit is a pointer and lesson to all to avoid publishing fake news even on social media.
"Well, it is very important that the media houses uphold journalism ethics. It is also important that they verify their fact before disseminating them to the public to avert fake and malicious news that can lead to legal consequences. In fact, media houses must always deploy tools available to them, including professionalism, ethics, and technology while carrying out their constitutional responsibility.
"Media is very important in every society as they play a very critical role in educating and enlightening the public at the same time we need genuine and factual coverage of events so as to expose societal ills and not the other way round."
Commenting on the Fox News $787.5 million defamation suit settlement, Dr.Adetokunbo Pearse, former lecturer in the Department of Political Science, University of Lagos, said it all depends on the way the court approaches it.
He said, "You know in the United States of America, when Donald Trump started shouting that he won the presidential election, Dominion decided to take it up with him and the Fox agency that was promoting the view of Trump was challenged.
"It was the court that decided there was a case in the matter. If we do the same in Nigeria and the court decides there is a case the judgement or the approach will be the same.
He added: "Our problem in Nigeria is the judiciary. The judiciary system in Nigeria is very corrupt. In Nigeria we hardly pay attention to such issues, people will make a lot of false claims and allegations and nobody will challenge the person in court.
"The issue between Dominion and Fox news agency, shows that journalists have a lot of power and responsibility, if like Fox News agency the media in Nigeria decided to be publishing unsubstantiated stories, the media will have itself to blame if the matter is taken to court, and it was discovered that the story is fake.
"The media is very powerful and needs to be very careful not to promote fake news, if the media promote fake news it will pay for it as fox news agency has paid for it."
For Kunle Adelabu, Publisher of Impact Magazine, a community based newspaper, there is nothing wrong in what Fox News agency has done to settle out of court.
"This brought professionalism to bear, so that journalists have to cross check and double check their facts before publishing, to ensure what they want to publish is the authentic information and not what was doctored. Such development will discourage junk news and fake news," he stated.
On the whooping sum Fox agency will pay for settlement out of court, he said many things would have been put into consideration before arriving at that sum and the court must have reviewed the offer before an agreement was reached.
Reacting to the decision by Fox News to pay $787.5 million to settle its legal battle with Dominion Voting Systems, Dr Tunde Akanni, Journalism Lecturer from the Lagos State University (LASU), said the situation was unfortunate.
He harped on the need for media companies to be aware of the laws that govern their conducts and news analysis and dissemination.
Akanni who is also a development expert stressed the need for corporations, be it media or public relations, to be aware that the law has no sacred cows.
He noted that though press freedom and the right to the freedom of information must be protected globally, the onus also lies on the media companies to be careful and not fall into the arms of the law.
The scholar who juxtaposed this with the hammer that fell on Channels by the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), said, "I had said this before in my recent write ups that media corporations should arm themselves with the whole information and subject matter and not allow themselves to be used.
"Press Freedom is important and is being canvassed all over the world. Also the media corporation should tread with caution on how they disseminate information and allow their guest analysts to speak. The Channels issue should have been avoided. Certain statements that can incite violence and unlawful scenarios should not be allowed to go on air."
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He added that the law will always take its course anywhere, just as he urged the media and the corporations to play the role of the fourth estate of the realm.
Also, the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) urged its members to shun fake news, saying it is pernicious and destructive and should be avoided by all means.
The Union also noted that journalists must avoid hateful tendencies in their reportage.
National secretary, NUJ, Shuaibu Usman Leman, who disclosed this while speaking exclusively with LEADERSHIP yesterday in Abuja noted that social media platforms have thrown up challenges and opportunities for the practice of journalism; hence, journalists should avail themselves of the opportunities being provided by the social media platforms to provide credible information and reduce the prevalence of hate speech and fake news.
He said, "Promoting news that is not verified is dangerous for the profession of Journalism and Journalists are expected to be conscious of their pivotal role in society.
"Fake news is pernicious and destructive and should be avoided by all means."
He stressed that the breaking news syndrome should be carefully assessed before being put out for public consumption because many times such news can turn out to be fake news with all the attendant consequences.
