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The information ecosystem has never been free from manipulation or distortion by various actors, be they individual, state, or organisation actors. Dis/misinformation actors use different strategies to influence people and stir them to action to achieve their aims.
One popular strategy is using the names of prominent people with a reputation, like political leaders, religious leaders, and scholars, to convince the public. Presidents of different countries have found their names in such content and will continue to do so as long these actors try to give their agenda credibility.
Here are some notable times that the name of Nigeria’s president, Bola Tinubu, was found in mis/disinforming content to convince the public.
- Tinubu giving out swearing-in celebration fund
Ahead of President Bola Tinubu’s ceremony in May 2023, a WhatsApp message went viral claiming the president was dolling out N20,000 to Nigerians to thank them for voting for him.
We found this to be false because the link attached to the message for redeeming the price led to a website showing different characteristics likened to that of Ponzi schemes or fraudulent websites. The presidency also distanced itself from the said fund.
- Tinubu reduces NYSC allowance
Months after President Tinubu’s inauguration, the screenshot of a news report claiming that he had reduced the monthly allowance received by corp members in the country from N33,000 during the previous administration in 2020 to N25,000 went viral.
We discovered that the viral image had the watermark “breakyourownnews.com,” which indicates a website where users can alter a news article for mischievous purposes. Also, a close look at the president’s inaugural speech showed no mention or reference to allowance reduction for corp members.
- Tinubu suspends court over fear of disqualification
In the follow-up of the general election, which President Bola Tinubu won, the candidates of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, expressed dissatisfaction with the electoral process and contested the verdict of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
While this case was with the election tribunal pending judgment, the Facebook page of an online magazine, Igbotimesmagazine, shared an article alleging that President Bola Tinubu had ordered the suspension of all courts in charge of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) over fear of his disqualification.
However, our findings revealed this was false as no credible news outlet reported it. The online magazine had also been notorious for sharing false and misleading reports around elections.
- Tinubu’s plans to abolish the Naira for Dollars
In Sept. 2023, a video showing Arise TV reporter Oji Okpe announcing that Mr Tinubu had abolished the use of the Naira and adopted the use of dollars emerged.
The 25-second video showed President Tinubu saying, “We are planning to abolish the usage of Naira and start using dollars.”
Our investigation revealed the video had been manipulated, and the original version was from a press conference in 2022, where Mr Tinubu announced his intention to run for the presidency. A disclaimer by Arise News also debunked the video.
