ArticlePDF Available

Fake News and Misinformation on COVID-19: Implications for Media Credibility in Nigeria

Authors:
Desmond Onyemechi Okocha at Bingham University
Desmond Onyemechi Okocha
Samuel Akpe at Bingham University
Samuel Akpe
Download full-text PDFDownload full-text PDF
Read full-text
Download citation

Abstract

The eruption of coronavirus disease in Nigeria in early 2020 created desperation for information. Everyone was eager to know something about the health issue, which killed people within days of infection. Questions requiring immediate answers ranged from what the symptoms were, to what self-help remedy was appropriate. The media, as expected, became a reliable platform to seek knowledge. The coronavirus disease came at a time when social media proliferated. So, most people depended on this innovation for information on the disease. This was where falsehood, masquerading as news, tainted the minds of Nigerians. This paper, anchored on the Framing Theory, sought to examine how fake news and misinformation influenced the management of Covid-19 in Nigeria. It also set out to establish whether, in the perception and experiences of the population, the Nigerian media still command the trust of the people as reliable primary sources of news. The research purposively drew 30 interviewees and discussants from Nigeria’s six geo-political zones. The outcome showed that while some Nigerians were not personally affected by fake news or misinformation, they were quite aware of its negative impact on people they could identify. This study recommends further investigation on why Nigerians still believe in the mass media despite infiltration and the influence of fake news. The general opinion points toward the need to make media content more credible through professionalism and legal control.
COVID-
19.pdf
Content uploaded by Desmond Onyemechi Okocha
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Desmond Onyemechi Okocha on Apr 30, 2023
Content may be subject to copyright.
HNMR_vol6_no1_
05.pdf
Content uploaded by Desmond Onyemechi Okocha
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Desmond Onyemechi Okocha on Aug 24, 2022
Content may be subject to copyright.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Desmond Onyemechi Okocha
I
, Samuel Matthew Akpe 2
1,2 Department of Mass Communication, Bingham University, Nigeria
HNMR Vol. 6 No. 1 2022, 139-161
Okocha & Akpe: Fake News and Misinformation on COVOD-19
attitudes
HNMR Vol. 6 No. 1 2022, 139-161
Okocha & Akpe: Fake News and Misinformation on COVOD-19
attitudes
HNMR Vol. 6 No. 1 2022, 139-161
Okocha & Akpe: Fake News and Misinformation on COVOD-19
attitudes
HNMR Vol. 6 No. 1 2022, 139-161
Okocha & Akpe: Fake News and Misinformation on COVOD-19
attitudes
HNMR Vol. 6 No. 1 2022, 139-161
Okocha & Akpe: Fake News and Misinformation on COVOD-19
attitudes
HNMR Vol. 6 No. 1 2022, 139-161
Okocha & Akpe: Fake News and Misinformation on COVOD-19
attitudes
SN
GEO-
POLITICAL
ZONES
NUMBER
OF
PARTICIPANTS
MALE
FEMALE
1
South East
5
4
1
2
North West
1
1
3
South West
3
1
2
4
North Central
4
2
2
5
South South
13
5
8
6
North East
1
1
7
Diaspora
3
3
TOTAL
30
12
18
Medics
Journalists
Business
Public
Servants
Students
Marketers
TOTAL
7
7
5
5
4
2
30
23.3%
23.3%
16.7%
16.7%
13.3%
6.7%
100%
HNMR Vol. 6 No. 1 2022, 139-161
Okocha & Akpe: Fake News and Misinformation on COVOD-19
attitudes
HNMR Vol. 6 No. 1 2022, 139-161
Okocha & Akpe: Fake News and Misinformation on COVOD-19
attitudes
HNMR Vol. 6 No. 1 2022, 139-161
Okocha & Akpe: Fake News and Misinformation on COVOD-19
attitudes
HNMR Vol. 6 No. 1 2022, 139-161
Okocha & Akpe: Fake News and Misinformation on COVOD-19
attitudes
HNMR Vol. 6 No. 1 2022, 139-161
Okocha & Akpe: Fake News and Misinformation on COVOD-19
attitudes
... Experts believe that the surge in fake news, which in extreme cases has resulted in death (Okocha and Akpe, 2022), has "triggered a renewed interest in various forms of media literacy" (Jones-Jang, Mortensen, and Liu, 2019). This is allegedly based on the authors' belief that media literacy intervention would help various mass media audiences be "inoculated against any harmful effects of misleading information." ...
... These six geopolitical zones encompass all 36 states as well as the federal capital Territory. The goal was to ensure that no zone was excluded in the process (Okocha and Akpe, 2022). Although not all zones produced the same number of participants, each participant was a representative sample of their respective zones. ...
Combating Fake News: How Increased Media Competences Can Curb Disinformation Trends in Nigeria
Chapter
Full-text available
  • Jun 2024
This study examined how Nigerians understood fake news. It took a qualitative approach, conducting in-depth interviews with 30 journalists to determine their understanding of fake news and explore how media literacy can help combat fake news. The sample was purportedly drawn from Nigeria's six geopolitical zones to ensure representativeness. Gatekeeping Theory and Public Sphere Theory were used to better understand how journalists use their professional role of vetting information and releasing only credible information to the public. The analyzed data show that social networks facilitate the spread of false news more than mainstream media. The findings also show that fake news spreads due to factors such as time constraints, clickbait, user-generated content, and competitiveness. Media literacy is important because it serves as the foundation for being an informed and critical thinker; thus, the study recommends, among other things, that media outlets evaluate and cross-check their sources, as well as encourage politicians and government officials to be cautious in their choice of words, as they have the potential to spread rapidly and incite violence.
View
... The research employed qualitative design and used purposive sampling technique to select three area councils namely: Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC); Bwari; and Gwagwalada where Thirty SME operators (10 in each of the selected area councils) were selected through convenience sampling. This sample size is considered adequate for the study because it aligns with that of Okocha & Akpe (2022) who also used a sample size of 30 respondents to represent a population of their study that was purposively drawn from Nigeria's six geo-political zones. The recruitment criteria ensured that only owners of start-ups who have been conducting their businesses in the FCT in the last three years were interviewed over a period of two weeks, from 8th to 22nd May, 2023, based on the research objectives stated with each interview session lasting for 25 minutes using an interview guide to ascertain the extent to which digital entrepreneurship can enhance sustainable development in Nigeria. ...
Engendering Sustainable Development Through Digital Entrepreneurship in Nigeria
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2023
The rapid developments in digital technologies and their increased utilization by entrepreneurs especially SMEs has given flue to a digital economy known as digital entrepreneurship. This study investigates how digital entrepreneurship can be engaged to engender sustainable development in Nigeria. The study, premised on the Uses and Gratifications theory and Technology Acceptance model, employed the qualitative design with in-depth interview as the instrument to sample the opinions of 30 respondents on the level of adaptation of digital technology by SMEs in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the influence of digital entrepreneurship on sustainable development in Nigeria. The study found that SMEs in the FCT actively espouse digital technologies to the operations of their businesses and that the adaptation of digital technologies by SMEs in the FCT have grown from 30 percent in the last three years to about 70 percent in 2023. Another important finding is that the use of digital technology has high prospects to significantly contribute to the attainment of long-term goals of entrepreneurs desirous of creating social and environmental value through innovative business models. Empirical evidence from this study points to the efficacy of digital entrepreneurship as the driving force behind the rise, growth and sustenance of SMEs, the engine of development of any nation. This study therefore concludes that digital entrepreneurship is a viable option for engendering sustainable development in Nigeria. The study recommends that given the importance and potentials of digital technologies to sustainable national development, government at national and sub-national levels should create the enabling environment through the provision of functional and accessible infrastructure necessary for SMEs to easily adopt digital technologies in the running of their businesses.
View
Global Health, Global Networks: A Multilingual Network Approach to Covid-19 Tweets in Norway, Korea, and Italy
Article
  • Dec 2022
Social media have created new opportunities for public health communicators to reach citizens without the filter of the news media. But these platforms also pose the challenge of having to compete with a wider variety of other actors – actors who, in a global pandemic, may be inside or outside the country. This transnational dimension of health communication, while alluded to in the academic literature, is still little understood, raising the need for new methodologies. Using large Twitter datasets from the period of the first pandemic lockdown in Norway, Italy, and South Korea, this paper demonstrates the use of multilingual network data for understanding health communication. The findings suggest that such a methodological approach, which reveals users’ transnational networks, can help identify the larger networks in which users interact and find health information, including global sources of misinformation.
View
Effects of Fake News and Propaganda on Management of Information on Covid-19 Pandemic in Nigeria
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2021
This study measured the effects of fake news and propaganda on managing information on COVID-19 among the Nigerian citizenry. This study examined sources of information on COVID-19 available to the people, evaluated reasons behind spreading fake news, examined how fake news has affected the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, established the consequences of fake news on managing COVID-19 pandemic and as well identified ways to contain fake news at a time like this in Nigeria.It is a survey with a sample size of 375 participants selected using simple random technique. Instrument of data gathering was questionnaire widely distributed in the six geo-political zones of Nigeria using Survey monkey. Data was analysed using frequencies, counts and percentages, tables and charts. Findings revealed that people rely more on radio, television, and social media for information on COVID-19. Fake news is spread by people mostly for political reasons and intention to cause panic. In Nigeria, fake news has led to disbelief of the existence of the virus thereby leading to violation of precautionary measures among the citizenry and lack of trust in the government. Concerted effort on the part of the government is required to give public enlightenment on the danger of fake news. Also, directorate of anti-fake news should be established to censor and reprimand sources of fake news. People should always check source of information to confirm its credibility and be weary of sharing unconfirmed information especially on the social media.
View
COVID-19-Related Infodemic and Its Impact on Public Health: A Global Social Media Analysis
Article
Full-text available
  • Aug 2020
  • AM J TROP MED HYG
Infodemics, often including rumors, stigma, and conspiracy theories, have been common during the COVID-19 pandemic. Monitoring social media data has been identified as the best method for tracking rumors in real time and as a possible way to dispel misinformation and reduce stigma. However, the detection, assessment, and response to rumors, stigma, and conspiracy theories in real time are a challenge. Therefore, we followed and examined COVID-19-related rumors, stigma, and conspiracy theories circulating on online platforms, including fact-checking agency websites, Facebook, Twitter, and online newspapers, and their impacts on public health. Information was extracted between De-cember 31, 2019 and April 5, 2020, and descriptively analyzed. We performed a content analysis of the news articles to compare and contrast data collected from other sources. We identified 2,311 reports of rumors, stigma, and conspiracy theories in 25 languages from 87 countries. Claims were related to illness, transmission and mortality (24%), control measures (21%), treatment and cure (19%), cause of disease including the origin (15%), violence (1%), and miscellaneous (20%). Of the 2,276 reports for which text ratings were available, 1,856 claims were false (82%). Misinformation fueled by rumors, stigma, and conspiracy theories can have potentially serious implications on the individual and community if prioritized over evidence-based guidelines. Health agencies must track misinformation associated with the COVID-19 in real time, and engage local communities and government stakeholders to debunk misinformation.
View
Fake News Misinformation and Morality: Encountering Fake-News Headlines Makes Them Seem Less Unethical to Publish and Share
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2019
People may repeatedly encounter the same misinformation when it “goes viral.” Four experiments and a pilot study (two pre-registered; N = 2,587) suggest that repeatedly encountering misinformation makes it seem less unethical to spread––regardless of whether one believes it. Seeing a fake-news headline one or four times reduced how unethical participants thought it was to publish and share that headline when they saw it again – even when it was clearly labelled false and participants disbelieved it, and even after statistically accounting for judgments of how likeable and popular it was. In turn, perceiving it as less unethical predicted stronger inclinations to express approval of it online. People were also more likely to actually share repeated (vs. new) headlines in an experimental setting. We speculate that repeating blatant misinformation may reduce the moral condemnation it receives by making it feel intuitively true, and we discuss other potential mechanisms.
View
The Zika Virus Epidemic in Brazil: From Discovery to Future Implications
Article
Full-text available
The first confirmed case of Zika virus infection in the Americas was reported in Northeast Brazil in May 2015, although phylogenetic studies indicate virus introduction as early as 2013. Zika rapidly spread across Brazil and to more than 50 other countries and territories on the American continent. The Aedes aegypti mosquito is thought to be the principal vector responsible for the widespread transmission of the virus. However, sexual transmission has also been reported. The explosively emerging epidemic has had diverse impacts on population health, coinciding with cases of Guillain–Barré Syndrome and an unexpected epidemic of newborns with microcephaly and other neurological impairments. This led to Brazil declaring a national public health emergency in November 2015, followed by a similar decision by the World Health Organization three months later. While dengue virus serotypes took several decades to spread across Brazil, the Zika virus epidemic diffused within months, extending beyond the area of permanent dengue transmission, which is bound by a climatic barrier in the south and low population density areas in the north. This rapid spread was probably due to a combination of factors, including a massive susceptible population, climatic conditions conducive for the mosquito vector, alternative non-vector transmission, and a highly mobile population. The epidemic has since subsided, but many unanswered questions remain. In this article, we provide an overview of the discovery of Zika virus in Brazil, including its emergence and spread, epidemiological surveillance, vector and non-vector transmission routes, clinical complications, and socio-economic impacts. We discuss gaps in the knowledge and the challenges ahead to anticipate, prevent, and control emerging and re-emerging epidemics of arboviruses in Brazil and worldwide.
View
Framing Theory
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2007
We review the meaning of the concept of framing, approaches to studying framing, and the effects of framing on public opinion. After defining framing and framing effects, we articulate a method for identifying frames in communication and a psychological model for understanding how such frames affect public opinion. We also discuss the relationship between framing and priming, outline future research directions, and describe the normative implications of framing.
View
View
Whom to trust? Media exposure patterns of citizens with perceptions of misinformation and disinformation related to the news media
Article
  • Feb 2022
This study tests how perceptions of misinformation and disinformation in one’s general news media environment relate to media trust and media consumption patterns, relying on survey data from 10 European countries. The results show that perceptions of misinformation and disinformation are both related to reduced trust in the news media. Furthermore, they go hand in hand with reduced consumption of traditional TV news, but with no changes in newspaper and (mainstream) online news use. Finally, those with stronger perceptions of misinformation and disinformation are more likely to consume news on social media and alternative, non-mainstream outlets. This pattern is stronger for those with higher perceptions of disinformation. These findings indicate that news users who distrust the veracity and honesty of the news media may turn to alternative outlets that reflect anti-establishment worldviews.
View
In the Shadow of Biological Warfare: Conspiracy Theories on the Origins of COVID-19 and Enhancing Global Governance of Biosafety as a Matter of Urgency
Article
  • Aug 2020
Two theories on the origins of COVID-19 have been widely circulating in China and the West respectively, one blaming the United States and the other a highest-level biocontainment laboratory in Wuhan, the initial epicentre of the pandemic. Both theories make claims of biological warfare attempts. According to the available scientific evidence, these claims are groundless. However, like the episodes of biological warfare during the mid-twentieth century, the spread of these present-day conspiracy theories reflects a series of longstanding and damaging trends in the international scene which include deep mistrust, animosities, the power of ideologies such as nationalism, and the sacrifice of truth in propaganda campaigns. Also, the threats associated with biological warfare, bioterrorism, and the accidental leakage of deadly viruses from labs are real and growing. Thus, developing a better global governance of biosafety and biosecurity than exists at present is an urgent imperative for the international community in the broader context of a looming Cold War II. For such a governance, an ethical framework is proposed based upon the triple ethical values of transparency, trust, and the common good of humanity.
View
View