8th December, 2022
By Deborah Coker
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Media and Civil Society will on Saturday in Abuja, brainstorm on challenges of disinformation and misinformation as the 2023 general elections beckon.
This is contained in a statement on Thursday by Ms Olutoyin Ayoade, Communications Officer, International Press Centre, IPC.
Ayoade said the interface between the INEC and other stakeholders on flashpoints of electoral disinformation and misinformation ahead of the 2023 elections was being organised by the IPC.
She explained that the IPC was the lead partner of component Four (Support to media) of the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria-Phase Two (EUSDGN Two) project.
She disclosed that the event would be chaired by Prof. Jibrin Ibrahim, Chairman of the Editorial Board of Premium Times and Senior Fellow of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD).
She added that Festus Okoye, INEC Commissioner for Information and Voter Education would give the keynote address and was expected to outline measures for curbing fake news in the electoral process.
Ayoade noted that if the spread of fake news in the electoral process was left unchecked, it could deny the voters the opportunity to make informed choices at the polls while it might also induce hate speech and electoral violence.