The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, says his ministry has uncovered about 476 online news sites dedicated to writing and publishing fake news content to fight President Muhammadu Buhari’s government.
The minister made this known when he received officials of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) who were on a courtesy visit to his office on Monday.
Mohammed said the sites recently embarked on a campaign on Buhari’s mental status through their fake publications.
He said, “It will amaze you that recently we unveiled almost 476 online publication sites that are dedicated to daily engaging in churning out fake news to fight the government.
“The latest which I found ridiculous is the one that said days ago, that they had information that when Mr President was in the UK the last time, he was advised to step down because he could not even recognise members of his immediate family.
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“I begin to wonder how they can go this far, simply because they know that people are gullible and they will make the fake news to go viral,’’ he said.
The minister recalled a recent report where fake news almost led to the killing of 600 applicants by scammers.
He stated, “A young man sent out letters to 600 people to enlist into Nigerian Army and collected N10,000 from each of them.
“He asked them to report at the Okitipupa Army Barracks in Ondo state on a particular day to collect their letters of appointment.
“At the same time, he alerted the Commandant of the Barrack that Boko Haram insurgents were coming to invade the barrack on the same day,’’ he said.
He called on the NIPR to champion the fight against fake news, adding that members of the institute were culpable in the act of disseminating fake news.
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“Regrettably, however, members of this institute have been found wanting, they have most times place pecuniary interest and motives above patriotism and nationalism.
“You will recall the sad incidence of the P&ID saga. “It was a member of this institute, a firm of PR consultants that was hired to give impression to the world that Nigeria entered into agreement with P&ID and renege and have to pay about nine billion dollars.
“It took the combine interventions of this ministry and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation to go to the UK to change the narrative to prove that the purported contract was a huge scam,’’ he said.
