Fighting Fake News Proliferation Through Digital Literacy in Africa: Perspectives from Nigerian Netizens

Abstract

ABSTRACT The emergence of social media and the Internet came with wide acceptance and enthusiasm. Yet, scholars and analysts are worried that despite their inherent benefits, one of the major drawbacks of these platforms is that they enable the propagation of fake news. While fake news is not confined to these platforms, it has become a serious issue for contemporary society given that these platforms allow people to obtain, convey, and spread information for social inclusion, democratic engagements, and other purposes. The degree to which disinformation can sabotage these prospects reinforces arguments regarding what ought to be done to mitigate digital dysfunction. Despite this concern, there are more anecdotal perspectives than empirical enquiries into fake news and digital literacy in the African (Nigerian) context. Therefore, using the Inoculation and Message Interpretation Process theories as our theoretical frameworks, and Focus Group Discussion as our research method, we explored the extent to which digital literacy or lack of it shaped the Nigerian netizens’ propensity to share fake news. Although sharing is not believing, as the participants suggest, the concerns about fake news proliferation across social media and the Internet warrant crucial conversations about how to encourage basic literacy in today's digital world, particularly in Africa. Thus, while the authors support the idea of digital literacy, they also caution that in itself, digital literacy is insufficient and may not go far enough in stopping fake news proliferation, yet it helps to minimise the spread.