Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, says fake news will ignite the next global war if nothing is done collectively to curtail it.
Mohammed said this when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values to defend his ministry’s 2022 budget on Monday.
The minister had in February said use of social media in amplifying fake news had become a form of cancer.
At the National Assembly, the minister said information is not what it used to be 20, 30 years ago.
“If we do not take the issue of fake news, social media seriously, it will be at our own peril,” he said.
“People of today, they don’t read newspapers, they don’t watch television — it’s social media. And it is the most expensive. It’s an unseen enemy, they are there every moment.
“Even the US that used to pride itself on the freedom of the press is now questioning the role of social media.”
He said there is the need for collaboration among stakeholders to tackle the menace of fake news.
