Abstract
ABSTRACT This article examines the manifestations, platforms and effect of fake news in Nigeria’s 2019 presidential election. Data for the study were drawn mainly from primary sources, notably the administration of questionnaire on 1300 purposively selected respondents across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the six-geopolitical zones of the country. A total of 1294 copies of the questionnaire were returned and analysed using descriptive statistics. The findings show that the majority of the respondents (86.8%) actively engaged and consumed general news about the 2019 presidential election. Again, the majority of the respondents identified instances of fake news before, during and after the election across the traditional and new media, but higher in the latter. Fake news negatively affected the election in many ways, notably the promotion of hate speech and violence. The inability of the government, political parties and presidential candidates to adequately debunk and correct fake news complicated the problem.
Published Version
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