Vanguard Allure

Top Menu

  • Vanguard

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Allure Magazine
    • Features
    • Magazine
    • Profiles
  • Allure TV
  • Celebration
    • Fashion & Style
    • Weddings
    • Lifestyle
    • Events
  • Wellbeing
    • Allure Woman
    • Healthy Living
    • Beauty
  • Happiness
    • Food
    • Shopping
    • Travel
    • Relationships
    • Career
  • News
  • Vanguard

logo

Vanguard Allure

  • Home
  • Allure Magazine
    • Female Influencers Cashing Out

      March 19, 2023
      0
    • IWD: Young Women Driving Tech

      March 12, 2023
      0
    • Buogo Obi-Oloketuyi: The Chic Carpenter

      March 5, 2023
      0
    • BOLANLE AND BUNMI NINALOWO: To Love And To Hold

      February 14, 2023
      0
    • Vanguard Personality Of The Year Awards 2022

      January 29, 2023
      0
    • Ruky Ogbetuo: From Fashion Writing To Prolific Designer

      January 21, 2023
      0
    • Bisola Alabi: Tech Savvy

      January 15, 2023
      0
    • Wumi Jubril - Providing Ultimate Wellness Experience

      January 13, 2023
      0
    • Celebrities Share their New Year’s Resolutions with us

      January 2, 2023
      0
    • Features
    • Magazine
    • Profiles
  • Allure TV
  • Celebration
    • Fashion & Style
    • Weddings
    • Lifestyle
    • Events
  • Wellbeing
    • Allure Woman
    • Healthy Living
    • Beauty
  • Happiness
    • Food
    • Shopping
    • Travel
    • Relationships
    • Career
  • News
    • 'Teni made people criticize me on social media' - Monalisa Stephen

      March 21, 2023
      0
    • Renowned English guitarist, Mick Slattery dies at 77

      Renowned English guitarist, Mick Slattery dies at 77

      March 21, 2023
      0
    • Whitemoney to sue BBN, real estate company over unfulfilled promise

      March 20, 2023
      0
    • Stop making statements that are oppressive and divisive -IK Osakioduwa urge Nigerians

      March 20, 2023
      0
    • How my dollar cash was stolen at Delta hotel -BBNaija's Phyna

      How my dollar cash was stolen at Delta hotel -BBNaija's Phyna

      March 17, 2023
      0
    • Olu of Warri, wife, joins world leaders to celebrate Commonwealth Day in ...

      March 16, 2023
      0
    • Amandla Ebeye reveals why she is changing name

      March 14, 2023
      0
    • Mercy Johnson's husband dedicates his Certificate of Return to her

      March 13, 2023
      0
    • Singer Tiwa Savage hosted at Buckingham Palace

      March 9, 2023
      0
  • Economist, Tony Elumelu celebrates 60th birthday

  • “It is well,” Anita Joseph replies troll who asking here to get pregnant

  • Aiteo founder Benedict Peters honored with African Philanthropy Award in Kigali

  • Anita Joseph, Tboss, others slam Monalisa Stephen for candid sex life confession

  • Blaqbonez laments album date clash with Davido’s

FeaturesNews
Home›Allure Magazine›Features›EndSARS: The bad and ugly side of Fake News

EndSARS: The bad and ugly side of Fake News

November 1,2020
Share:

By Yemisi Suleiman.

Fake news has been around for as long as human existence, but it has become doubly charged by digital technology and the transformation of the global media, particularly the advent of social media. Today, social media is one of the strongest tools for dissemination of information and most people, have access to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram through which they churn out news and information.

However, facts have shown that a huge chunk of stories or news online oftentimes, turn out to be fake and misleading. Through these platforms, people use fake news to malign people or induce them to act or behave in certain ways, all in an attempt to sow seeds of discord or get clicks.


Usually, periods of civil unrest provide opportunity for bad influencers to spread misinformation, and manipulate public perception of events to divide society. With more people relying on social media as a source for news, recent events in Nigeria show that such content, most of the time, influence audiences who are unable to distinguish truth from fact or news from propaganda.


A case in point is the recently-held #EndSARS protests sparked by the purported killing of a young man in Delta State, by men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

Although the young man did not die as was later reported, this misinformation triggered the #EndSARS protests which began online, and later moved to the streets of Lagos and other states of the country, with youths calling for the disbandment of the special police unit.


Trending online in the first few days of the protest, was the story of a young lady from the East, identified as Ugwu Blessing Ugochukwu, whose three brothers were reported to have been killed the same day and thrown into a well by men of the SARS unit.

However, a research by BBC, proved the image is real, but the story false. According to Gideon Obianime, a spokesperson for Ms. Ugochukwu, he revealed that although Ms. Ugochkwu was briefly detained by some members of the SARS in 2018, none of her brothers was killed.


“I think people started adding assumptions to the photo. She has been getting a lot of backlash [over this],” Mr. Obianime told the BBC.


Also, a tweet that was re-tweeted thousands of times during the unrest falsely claimed that Catholic Bishops had marched in support of the protests. The tweet included a photo showing Bishops among a procession of people, most of them wearing black, with some carrying placards.

However, it was later discovered that the photo was an old one, as a reverse image search by the BBC showed it was from March when the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), led a protest in Abuja against killings and kidnappings in the country.


The umbrella body of Catholic Bishops in Nigeria later issued a statement supporting the SARS protests, adding that they had not physically joined in any protests.


As the youths continued in their resolve to attain their goal of making the country a better place, there was also an unproven claim that a soldier cannot shoot someone holding the Nigerian flag.

It was widely shared on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, with some suggesting there is an unwritten military code to that effect.
This misleading claim was debunked by Onyekachi Umah, a lawyer who said that though there were laws about respecting the national flag, but: “Just the fact that someone is holding the flag would not mean they [the army] cannot act.”


In the heat of the #EndSARS protest and a glaring communication breakdown between the government and the protesters, and with fake news spreading like wild fire, what started out as a peaceful demonstration by thousands of youths, degenerated into chaos after the protest was hijacked by hoodlums.

There were cases of looting and wanton destruction of public and private properties across the state, a move which led to an imposition of curfew by Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Later the same day, social media accounts revealed peaceful protesters were allegedly being shot at by the Nigerian military at the Lekki toll gate holdout.

This tragic incident and the global protests that followed, also led to a plethora of rumours that ranged from the absurd to harmful.
As news of casualties from the incident continued to spread, prominent Nollywood actress Eniola Badmus was rumoured to have been shot and killed on the protest ground.

A few days later, she revealed via her Instagram handle: “I would like to inform you guys that I, Eniola Badmus is hale and hearty. Infact, I couldn’t make it today to lend my voice to the #EndSARS movement.”
There were also reports of other supposedly dead people, who later came out to say they are not dead.

In particular, was that of a young man, carrying a dead girl wrapped with the Nigerian Flag stained with blood. This sparked a lot of outrage from the already angry youths. However, the girl in question, Onyinye Francis, debunked the rumours via her Instagram handle saying: “please the lady he is carrying is not dead, it was a drama we acted on 1st October in NCCF Akwa Ibom, with the theme: Heal the world. Please help and share.”


The list goes on and on, with tempers running high and emotions wild, leading to reactions of different dimensions.
One major news that many Nigerians are yet to accept as fake is the Lekki Tollgate massacre of 20-20-20 involving the Nigerian army.

A video circulated by Nigeria’s female disc jockey, DJ Switch showed soldiers advancing towards the unarmed protesters shortly before shooting. Although the exact number of casualties at the Lekki shooting is still shrouded in mystery, the Nigerian Army insisted that they did not shoot any civilian and that there is glaring and convincing evidence to attest to this fact.


A statement by Acting Deputy Director, 81 Division Army Public Relations, Major Osoba Olaniyi, read: “The attention of Headquarters 81 Division Nigerian Army has been drawn to a viral video on social media, in which it was alleged that civilian protesters were massacred by soldiers at Lekki Toll Plaza.

This allegation is untrue, unfounded and aimed at causing anarchy in the country. At no time did soldiers of the Nigerian Army open fire on any civilian.”
While the Nation eagerly awaits findings of the panel set up by the government to probe the Lekki shootings, fake news no doubt continues to circulate feelings of fear, frustration and resentment in the public.

With studies showing that many Nigerians cannot tell what news is fake, important social and political issues must be properly managed by both government and the media, to avoid crises escalating. Perhaps, the time has come for users to be held accountable for what they share.

TagsFake news
Previous Article

Olabanke Subair: The Tyre Up-cycler

Next Article

Must have furniture for a Glamorous Bedroom

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Related articles More from author

  • Allure WomanNews

    Dolapo Badmos denies sack from police

    October 17, 2020
    By Temitope
  • Relationships

    Actress, Yvonne Okoro debunks reports of being dumped by men

    January 31, 2019
    By allure1
  • EntertainmentNews

    ‘Trump is putting our lives in danger’ I’m filing for Nigerian citizenship – Cardi B

    January 4, 2020
    By Oluwamuyiwa Oyedele
  • EventsNews

    The mind-blowing Queen Moremi the Musical hits the stage

    December 26, 2018
    By allure1
  • News

    Usain Bolt shares adorable photo of daughter, reveals name

    July 8, 2020
    By Temitope
  • Moses Bliss continues trend of showering cars on signees
    musicNewsTrending

    Moses Bliss gifts signee, Chize brand-new Lexus

    March 2, 2023
    By joy onuorah
0

  • Allure MagazineNews

    Singer, Yemi Alade emerges only African artiste on latest Just Dance video game

  • Allure WomanRelationships

    ‘Women in abusive relationships should seek help’

  • MAX OUT
    News

    Borderless Trade Network Presents Project WINHER 2021

  • 5312
    Followers
  • 12744
    Likes

Timeline

  • March 22, 2023

    Economist, Tony Elumelu celebrates 60th birthday

  • March 22, 2023

    “It is well,” Anita Joseph replies troll who asking here to get pregnant

  • March 22, 2023

    Aiteo founder Benedict Peters honored with African Philanthropy Award in Kigali

  • March 22, 2023

    Anita Joseph, Tboss, others slam Monalisa Stephen for candid sex life confession

  • March 22, 2023

    Blaqbonez laments album date clash with Davido’s

Categories

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Sign up to receive email updates and to hear what's going on with our magazine!

  • Recent

  • Popular

  • Comments

  • Economist, Tony Elumelu celebrates 60th birthday

    Economist, Tony Elumelu celebrates 60th birthday

    By joy onuorah
    March 22, 2023
  • "It is well," Anita Joseph replies troll who asking here to get pregnant

    “It is well,” Anita Joseph replies troll who asking here to get pregnant

    By joy onuorah
    March 22, 2023
  • Aiteo founder Benedict Peters honored with African Philanthropy Award in Kigali

    Aiteo founder Benedict Peters honored with African Philanthropy Award in Kigali

    By joy onuorah
    March 22, 2023
  • Anita Joseph, Tboss, slam Monalisa Stephen for sex life confession

    Anita Joseph, Tboss, others slam Monalisa Stephen for candid sex life confession

    By joy onuorah
    March 22, 2023
  • Chioma Jesus, Sammie Okposo, Midnight Crew set for #THUGGLA2018

    By RITA
    April 24, 2018
  • American rapper, Kendrick Lamar wins Pulitzer prize for 2017 ‘Damn’ album

    By RITA
    April 17, 2018
  • Afrobeat singer, Seun Kuti drops new album titled ‘Black Times’ 

    By RITA
    April 23, 2018
  • Actor, Yul Edochie declares intention to run for presidency

    By RITA
    April 23, 2018

Entertainment

  • March 21, 2023

    ‘Teni made people criticize me on social media’ – Monalisa Stephen

  • March 21, 2023

    Singer Davido returns to social media, announces date for new album

  • March 21, 2023

    ‘Never give up’ – Yul Edochie writes open letter to Funke Akindele after election loss 

  • March 16, 2023

    Burnaboy to perform at Champions League final in Istanbul

  • March 16, 2023

    EbonyLife’s Mo Abudu, Idris Alba, partner on Africa-inspired movie

Follow us