By Kunle Adebayo
There are 33 million active monthly users of Facebook in Nigeria. There are also many millions of people exchanging information on Twitter, 280 characters at a time. But just like the country’s population of phone subscribers cannot be determined using only the number of SIM cards in circulation, it is also hard to say for sure because not all these accounts on social media are authentic.
There are a number of reasons for this. One, it is easier for the information you share to be spread widely and presumed to be true if it is believed to come from a public figure. Second, people sometimes assume false identities in order to mimic certain personalities for the sake of humour or satire. Third, in large numbers, fake accounts can be used to spread all forms of propaganda. And then, there are those who just want to make some money off any activity within their competence.
The sale of social media accounts, from Twitter to Facebook and Instagram, appears to be a thriving industry. For Facebook, personal accounts that have a long history are preferred, largely because new accounts raise suspicion when used by scammers. The prices of Twitter accounts and Facebook pages often range between one naira and two naira per follower.
The many #EndSARS impersonations
This practice provides an incentive for people to create multiple accounts on social media and assume false identities in order to gain followers. The trend was especially noticeable on Twitter during the recent campaign for reforms in the Nigeria Police. In the first two weeks, the EndSARS hashtag had 173 billion impressions and nearly 100 million mentions.
While many of the fake accounts helped amplify the #EndSARS message, contributing to the advocacy for police reforms and an end to brutalityㅡtheir motives regardless, they have also contributed to the spread of misinformation.
In one instance, this account shared fake news about the supposed death of President Muhammadu Buhari, a statement falsely attributed to First Lady Aisha Buhari, an unverifiable quote linked to former All Progressives Congress party Chairman, Adams Oshiomole, and another misleading picture.
Another fake account on October 21 shared a video of a military officer firing into the night, thus suggesting that was how “shootings were being coordinated” against peaceful protesters. A fact-check by AFP, however, showed that the clip predated the EndSARS campaign.
The same video was shared by another fake account impersonating DJ Switch, Obianuju Udeh, and has been watched over 34,000 times.
On October 23, the verified handle of the All Progressives Congress branch in the United Kingdom shared two pictures supporting the claim that DJ Switch gave contradictory death tolls from the shooting at Lekki tollgate. “DJ Switch reduced ‘confirmed dead’ from 78 to 15 within 2 days and maybe 0 by next week. This is reckless and silly,” the account stated.
The only problem was while one of the figures was given by Udeh through her official Instagram account, the second one originated from a fake Twitter account registered in her name. The tweet was deleted after this was pointed out by AFP fact-checker Tijani Mayowa.
When fake accounts make attempts to be humorous, often such attempts go too far. A young Nigerian, Okechukwu Obi-Enadhuze, was killed on October 21 after thugs attacked a police station in Oshodi, Lagos. Following the incident, his girlfriend took to Twitter to express her anguish. The same day, an account (now deleted) (re)named “Oke” and with the same picture on the late Oke’s account, replied the girlfriend’s tweet with the words: “My love, trust I’m in a better place. I’ll be watching you from the skies.” The account user then added trending hashtags “#unarmed #EndSARS”.
Impersonation against Facebook, Twitter rules
According to the former’s policies, “Your account should represent you, and only you should have access to your account. If someone gains access to your account, or creates an account to pretend to be you or someone else, we want to help. We also encourage you to let us know about accounts that represent fake or fictional people, pets, celebrities or organizations.”
Twitter also states that impersonation is a violation of its rules. “Accounts that pose as another person, brand, or organization in a confusing or deceptive manner may be permanently suspended under Twitter’s impersonation policy,” it warns.
However, in spite of their rigid positions, fake accounts continue to proliferate on the platforms in…Read more.
FACT CHECKS OF THE WEEK
The Nigerian Army denies any role in the Lekki toll gate shootings on Tuesday, October 20, tagging all the reports as fake news and video/photo images as ‘photoshop.’ However, Dubawa researched this claim and detailed its findings in this check.
On 23rd October 2020, a Twitter user @maryamamasa posted a twenty-seven-seconds video clip of a rowdy session, claiming that it was an altercation between the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and delegates of the federal government during…
THREE pictures- claiming evidence of Muhammadu Buhari’s death and that the Queen of Britain, Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, showed a condolence letter to the Nigerian government over the demise of the president…
QandA
- Is there a breakdown of the special salary structure for teachers?
According to credible media reports, the president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, has approved a special salary structure for teachers. Mr Buhari also increased the year of service of teachers by 5 years which implies that a teacher in Nigeria can now work for 40 years instead of 35 years.
However, while a special salary structure has been approved, details of this new structure, or a breakdown of this salary structure, has not been released. Dubawa reached out to the spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, Ben Goong, He said, “There is quite a lot of work to be done, not just the figures, the naira and kobo of salary. What confirmation do you expect from me when I said there is a committee that has not even been inaugurated yet to work on that,” (Read full fact check here.)
- Has Okonjo-Iweala emerged as the new WTO DG?
There was a breaking news by an online news website, THE NEW DIPLOMAT, in the early hours of Tuesday, October 27, 2020, that Nigeria’s former Finance Minister and a former Managing Director of the World Bank, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has emerged as the first female Director-General of the World Trade Organization(WTO).” But, this is not accurate.
While the race for the coveted job of DG WTO has been fierce with Nigeria’s Okonjo-Iweala and South Korea’s serving Trade Minister, Yoo Myung-hee, and the WTO General Council has disclosed that Dr Okonjo-Iweala has the best chance of attaining a consensus of the membership, the council is yet to officially and publicly declare Dr Okonjo-Iweala as the next DG of WTO.
What can you do?
Be alert, share our tips and don’t share false news!
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Tip of the week
#FakeNews Alert
Dubawa has always advised that readers should be skeptical about information gotten online especially when the information is from an unverifiable blog. NewsRain, in its report, has presented a statement supposedly from the United State Trade Representative on why it opposed the emergence of Okonjo-Iweala as the World Trade Organization’s Director-General. However, the report is void of how the statement was acquired by the news platform. Besides this, the report also quoted an unidentified source, which is a common practice in misinformation. Hence, before sharing this information further, be sure to verify.
Questions to ask yourself: Did the United States publish a statement? Where and when was it published? Which credible platform has published the report apart from NewsRain?
Other Fact-checks/Articles
- #EndSARS: Nigerian Army dispels #Lekkishootings as ‘Fake news’ but its evidences continue to shift
- Again, Nigerians congratulate Okonjo-Iweala on landing WTO job but she’s not appointed yet
- #EndSARS: The Trend And Threat Of Fake Social Media Accounts
- Misleading WhatsApp message gives breakdown of approved new teacher’s salary structure
- Some people believe sleeping under insecticide treated bed net is harmful but how true is this?
- Viral Video suggesting ASUU chairman was slapped is FALSE
- Picture claiming Queen Elizabeth wrote condolence letter to Nigeria over Buhari’s death resurfaces, but FALSE
- Are 63% of young Nigerians jobless or underemployed as claimed recently?
- Nigerian Judges and Car Gifts: Constitutional or Entitlements?
- #WhereisBuhari: Again, social media claim Nigeria’s president is dead, with ‘evidence’
- Research: Mapping the relationship between newsrooms and factchecking organizations
- #EndSars: Was The Adekunle Police Station in Yaba Set Ablaze?
- Is it true that prolonged exposure to the sun can cause Malaria?
- A Six-year Mapping of Fact-Checks Shows Growing Partnership Between Newsrooms and Fact-Checking Organisations in Nigeria
