Nov. 11 polls: INEC condemns the use of false information as weapon

The weaponization of election-related misinformation has been bemoaned by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The electoral umpire stated that the progression has grown extremely concerning.

Prof. Kunle Ajayi, the National Commissioner and Member of the Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), spoke on Monday in Nasarawa at a two-day workshop and capacity building for the INEC Press Corps on ethical, safe practises, and crucial issues pertaining to the Kogi, Imo, and Bayelsa governorship elections.

Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI) sponsored the programme.

He pointed out that the media must cover election-related stories with a strong sense of professionalism, journalistic ethics, and high standards.

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The workshop, according to Ajayi, is particularly timely given that the off-cycle governorship elections are set for November 11, 2023.

He emphasised that false news can become the bane of election administration in Nigeria if it is not stopped in its tracks, as the Commission’s unpleasant experience with it during the general election of 2023 had demonstrated.

In an already divisive culture like Nigeria, the national commissioner noted that disinformation is utilised, particularly during election season, to incite religious, political, and tribal prejudices.

He named the change as the main catalyst for electoral unrest and bloodshed.

The rising proliferation of false information, so-called “fake news,” hate speech, and the weaponization of disinformation, according to him, has caused the Commission great concern.

Disinformation is frequently the main driver of electoral violence and upheavals because it is used to incite religious, political, and tribal passions in our already divisive society.

Regardless of the potential negative consequences such propaganda may have on the peace and stability of the electoral process and the country as a whole, election-related disinformation has grown to be a significant tactic used by malicious individuals and groups in the political sphere to manipulate the general public to their advantage.

Ajayi urged the media to avoid spreading false information and incendiary stories and to be neutral and impartial in their reporting.