91�鶹������Ʒ����

Speaking at the Ministerial panel focused on “National media and information literacy framework, sustaining beyond disinformation”, the Minister of State for Education, said when youths and children are taught media and information literacy, it will help them differentiate between fake and quality news.

According to the Minister, “teaching media and information literacy in schools would help the young ones appreciate quality news, and to achieve this, parents must be media and information literate themselves.”

While speaking on the ways to mitigate disinformation and misinformation, Nigeria's Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said “disinformation is threatening our existence” and the fight against this menace should be a joint effort between Governments, international organisations, tech companies, CSOs and the population at large.  Citizens need the skills to interrogate and analyse the source's credibility and content of information before sharing or using it.  

In the chain of discussion, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, emphasised the contribution of journalism in combating disinformation and misinformation through fact-checking and provision of factual information. He equally points to the importance of preserving human rights online as offline: “What is legal and legitimate offline is legal and legitimate online. What is illegal and illegitimate offline is also illegal and illegitimate online.” Furthermore, the Minister emphasises that by considering the impact of disinformation on communities, countries and the continent, it can “trigger the 4th world war if the appropriate actions are not taken. It is our collective responsibility to fight misinformation.”

In another special forum on “Ambassadors as messengers championing media and information literacy,” Mr Cui Jianchun, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Nigeria, said that Ambassadors and embassies can contribute to media and literacy information by providing support to viable policies. The ambassador added that climate change and media and information literacy should be the two priority areas in today's world, and it is pertinent that the relevant policies necessary to combat misinformation and disinformation are put into consideration.

Participants at the session also called on agencies such as law enforcement agencies and international organisations to join in this fight against disinformation as the latter can quickly become the root cause of chaos, turmoil and instability.

Intervening during the exchanges, Mr Tawfik Jelassi, the UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, called on participants to commit to the “imperative action of making citizens media and information literate, which is critical to navigate in today's digital world”. According to him, there is an essential need to be equipped with the knowledge and skills to distinguish reliable quality information from misinformation or disinformation.