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Please note that the FactCheckHub has not obtained any right from the authors or copyright owners of all third-party contents from embedded links and shall incur no liability in this regard.
Please note that the FactCheckHub has not obtained any right from the authors or copyright owners of all third-party contents from embedded links and shall incur no liability in this regard.
A new report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) has warned that the impact of Meta‘s policy changes could be significant, with as much as 97% of enforcement actions in key areas like hate speech being discontinued.
The report notes that this shift could lead to an estimated 277 million pieces of harmful content spreading unchecked each year.
Recall that Meta‘s recent overhaul of its content moderation policies has raised critical questions about the safety of its platforms, the spread of harmful content, and the company’s commitment to combating misinformation.
The policy changes, announced on January 7, 2025 include halting proactive enforcement of several policies on harmful content, reducing content demotion, eliminating independent fact-checking, and revising policies on hate speech, gender identity, and immigration.
One of the most pressing concerns raised in the report is Meta’s lack of clarity on which policies will no longer receive proactive enforcement. While the tech company has stated that it will continue enforcing rules against terrorism, child sexual exploitation, fraud, and drug-related content, it has not explicitly confirmed whether areas such as hate speech, violence and incitement and self-harm will still be proactively moderated.
The report states that the vast majority of Meta’s enforcement actions were previously proactive, meaning that if this system is dismantled, enforcement will rely almost entirely on user reports, which have historically resulted in far fewer actions against harmful content.
The CCDH argues that Meta must clarify the scope of this policy shift and how it plans to mitigate the risks associated with it.
The decision to demote less content that “might violate our standards” has also drawn scrutiny. Mark Zuckerberg had previously stated that limiting the reach of borderline content was an effective way to curb misinformation and prevent the spread of divisive narratives. However, Meta is now abandoning this approach without explaining why it is reversing a strategy it once described as successful.
The CCDH report questions what assessment Meta has made regarding the potential increase in misinformation and harmful content if this measure is discontinued.
Further controversy surrounds Meta’s decision to drop policies on content related to immigration, gender identity, and race. Leaked internal moderation guidelines reveal that statements such as “Black people are more violent than Whites” and “Trans people aren’t real” will now be allowed under the new rules.
The CCDH also questions whether Meta conducted any risk assessment on the impact of these changes, particularly for marginalized communities who may face increased online harassment asking whether the company engaged with affected groups before implementing these policy shifts.
The replacement of independent fact-checking with a crowdsourced “Community Notes” system has raised additional concerns.
The CCDH report notes that studies have found Community Notes ineffective in addressing divisive misinformation, particularly during elections or public health crises. It also highlights that the system often fails to reach a consensus on controversial topics, resulting in misinformation remaining unchecked.
In addition, the report questions how Meta intends to address these known weaknesses, especially given its past commitments to tackling election-related disinformation.
Meta’s decision to reverse its previous policy of limiting civic content in users’ feeds has also drawn questions. In 2021, the company justified reducing the visibility of political content by citing user feedback that it contributed to a negative experience.
However, the new policy will treat political content like any other, potentially amplifying misinformation and divisive rhetoric.
The CCDH report asks why Meta is making this change despite its own past research showing that civic content was more likely to be rated negatively by users.
Another key question revolves around Meta’s claim that it will relocate its trust and safety teams from California to Texas. Zuckerberg had suggested that this move will reduce concerns about bias in content moderation, but the CCDH report notes that Meta already has major content moderation operations in Texas.
It questions whether this move will result in a reduction of trust and safety staffing, particularly as the company shifts away from proactive enforcement.
CCDH argues that Meta has not provided adequate explanations for these sweeping changes, nor has it outlined a clear plan to prevent an increase in harmful content.
The report calls on legislators, regulators, journalists, and civil society to press Meta for answers on the real-world consequences of these policy shifts, urging greater transparency from a company that continues to shape global discourse.
AN X user, @prudenceoflago3, has posted a video purportedly showing Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, engaging in a fisticuffs and heated exchange with a former Kogi Senator, Dino Melaye, when they were both in the National Assembly.
The video is being circulated in connection with recent remarks by the First Lady over allegations of sexual harassment involving Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and the controversy surrounding the Senate’s seating arrangement.
During a recent TV appearance on AriseNews, Natasha accused Akpabio of inappropriate conduct, sparking national rage and calls for a thorough investigation. In response, Mrs Tinubu reportedly stated that the Senate is a “matured chamber” where “things like that” should not be heard, emphasizing that the institution should be treated with respect. She further advised women to assert themselves to prevent men from addressing them inappropriately.
To verify the claim, our researcher observed that the video shared was very blurry that one could hardly identify the people in the footage. The only easily established concept in the video is the setting of the National Assembly.
When our researcher ran keywords search “Lawmakers fought in the National Assembly” on Google search, it led to a Channels TVvideo that showed the original footage. The video depicts PDP lawmakers engaged in a brawl in the House of Representatives in 2013 over emergence of factions within the party.
The woman identified from the video is Binta Masi Garba, a lawmaker from Kaduna State and the then leader of the pro-Baraje nPDP faction. The man with whom she engaged in a fisticuffs and whose cloth was torn was Afeez Adelowo Onaara, a lawmaker from Oyo State.
According to a news report that also confirms the fisticuffs, the 2013 crisis within the then Nigeria’s ruling political party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was marked by internal leadership disputes, disagreements over power rotation, and dissatisfaction with the party’s administration led by Bamanga Tukur. Tensions escalated when seven governors of G7 and other prominent members staged a walkout during the party’s national convention and formed a faction known as the New PDP (nPDP), which was led by Abubakar Kawu Baraje.
Additionally, our researcher observed that the fisticuffs happened in the lower chamber of the National Assembly while Oluremi Tinubu and Dino Melaye were senators in the upper chambers.
THE VERDICT
The claim that the video shows Oluremi Tinubu in a fisticuffs with Dino Melaye is MISLEADING, as the footage actually depicts PDP members Binta Masi and Afeez Adelowo engaging in a confrontation in the lower chamber over PDP factions in 2013.
META has announced plans to test its new ‘Community Notes’ feature across its social media platforms on March 18, 2025 as it shifts away from third-party fact-checking toward a crowdsourced approach to content moderation.
Recall that Meta’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, announced the transition to a user-driven Community Notes system in January 2025.
The initiative, similar to the system already implemented by X (formerly Twitter), will allow users of Facebook, Instagram and Threads to write and rate contextual notes on various content.
Meta said approximately 200,000 potential contributors in the United States have already signed up across the three platforms.
The new approach requires contributors to be over 18 years of age with accounts more than six months old that are in good standing.
During the testing period, notes will not immediately appear on content and the company will gradually admit people from the waitlist and thoroughly test the system before public implementation.
Meta emphasized that the notes will only be published when contributors with differing viewpoints agree on their helpfulness. “This isn’t majority rules,” the company said.
“Notes also won’t have penalties associated with them the way fact-checks did. Fact-checked posts often had their distribution across our platforms reduced. That won’t be the case with posts that have notes applied to them. Notes will provide extra context, but they won’t impact who can see the content or how widely it can be shared,” part of the statement reads.
Notes will be limited to 500 characters, must include supporting links and will initially support six languages commonly used in the United States: English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French, and Portuguese.me
“Our intention is ultimately to roll out this new approach to our users all over the world, but we won’t be doing that immediately,” the company said.
“Until Community Notes are launched in other countries, the third-party fact-checking programme will remain in place for them,” it added.
Meta said that it would not be “reinventing the wheel” and will use X’s open-source algorithms as the basis of its system.
The FactCheckHub recalled that Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp announced the termination of its third-party fact-checking programme in the United States, shifting instead to a “Community Notes” system earlier this year.
While these developments are positioned as efforts to improve freedom of expression, they raise concerns about the potential proliferation of disinformation campaigns, particularly celebrity death hoaxes on social media.
For instance, The FactCheckHubreported that Facebook has increasingly become the hotspot for spreading disinformation, especially fake deaths of celebrities and notable individuals. Disinformation experts raised concerns over the potential of the Community Notes system to fuel hoaxes of this nature.
More than 100 fact-checking organisations under the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) condemned the decision, warning that it will undermine online accuracy and have real-world consequences.
Fact-checkers expressed disappointment, arguing that the move threatens nearly a decade of progress in curbing misinformation in an open letter to Zuckerberg published earlier in January 2025.
They rejected Meta’s claim that fact-checking had become a tool for censorship, calling the statement ‘false’ and emphasising that their fact-checking programmes complied with strict nonpartisanship standards.
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has announced plans to intensify efforts in tackling misinformation and disinformation in the country, recognizing their potential to incite unrest and damage public trust in security agencies.
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun disclosed this when the Director-General (DG) of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mallam Jibrin Baba Ndace, paid him a courtesy visit on March 13, 2025, at the Force Headquarters in Abuja.
Speaking during the visit, Ndace commended the IGP for his leadership and proactive approach to security since assuming office.
He acknowledged the growing challenge of disinformation and its impact on public’s perception of security agencies, stressing that false narratives can undermine the credibility of the police and erode trust in governance.
He assured the IGP of VON’s readiness to work closely with the Force in combating the spread of misleading content that distorts reality.
In response, Egbetokun expressed appreciation for the support of the media, emphasizing that disinformation is a major threat to national security. He noted that misinformation often fuels public unrest and misrepresents the efforts of security agencies.
He welcomed VON’s commitment to using its platform to counter fake news and pledged the Force’s cooperation in ensuring that accurate information reaches the public.
The IGP reaffirmed that the NPF remains steadfast in upholding press freedom and recognize the responsibility of the media in ensuring factual and responsible reporting.
He urged journalists and media organizations to be vigilant in fact-checking and verifying information before dissemination to prevent the spread of falsehoods that could incite public disorder.
As part of its broader commitment to transparency and accountability, the Nigeria Police Force encourages open dialogue and constructive feedback from citizens and stakeholders, Egbetokun said.
The IGP assured the public that the Force will continue to operate with professionalism, integrity, and respect for democratic values while taking decisive steps to tackle the menace of misinformation and disinformation in Nigeria.
The FactCheckHub had previously fact-checked many social media posts targeted at the Nigeria Police Force and aimed to sow mistrust against security agencies.
For instance, an X user claimed that only police officers who have served as a Commissioner of Police in Lagos State can be appointed as Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police (IGP) – which we found to be FALSE.
To verify this claim, our fact-checker reviewed the Police Act of 2020, particularly Sections 7 and 8, which outline the appointment, tenure, and removal of the IGP. There is no section or subsection that stipulates a requirement for any officer to have served as Commissioner of Police in Lagos State before being appointed as IGP.
The FactCheckHub also debunked an old video posted by pro-Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa, alongside a claim that some men of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) generally assaulted their female colleagues.
During the End Bad Governance protest held in August 2024, a video purportedly showing protesters of #EndBadGovernancelnNigeria chasing ‘soldiers’ away with stones in Kaduna State surfaced online. Our findings show that the video is from the anti-finance bill protests held in Kenya earlier on July 16, 2024 – about 2 weeks before the Nigerian protests kicked off.
AN X user, @nolifefahard, has posted a video showing a former Nigerian president, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, in a media interview alongside a claim that the ex-President allegedly exposed Omoyele Sowore for working with the current President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Tinubu, who contested on the platform of ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), relied on his extensive political influence, while Sowore, the African Action Congress (AAC) candidate, positioned himself as a vocal critic of the political establishment. He also raised questions about Tinubu’s academic credentials and past legal controversies. Tinubu’s supporters, in turn, dismissed these allegations as politically-motivated and portrayed Sowore as an opportunist lacking a substantive political agenda.
Following the aftermath of the 2023 election, their rivalry played out on social media, with Sowore rejecting the election results and calling for electoral reforms. Since Tinubu’s inauguration, Sowore has remained a vocal critic, using his platform to challenge the Tinubu-led administration’s actions and advocate for transparency and accountability in governance.
To verify the authenticity of the video, our fact-checker extracted keyframes from the footage and conducted a reverse image search on Google search engine. This search led us to the source of the original video uploaded onDecember 4, 2012, by SaharaTV.
The video depicts a TVC News coverage of then President Jonathan addressing State House audience following the death of his younger brother, Meni Jonathan, who passed away on November 8, 2012. Another report published by PM News shows that the ex-President had an audience with some Nigerian lawmakers from the South-South caucus at the State House.
The 13-second clip shared by the claimant is part of this address, where Jonathan commented on how he heard the news of his brother’s death which can be found from 28 seconds to 48 seconds of the original 141-second video.
Part of the transcript read: “Then, my doctor came in with my ADC and my CSO and the way they came in I knew that something was wrong and they announced his death. So, while I was still receiving the ambassador, he passed on about 11am. I didn’t know. In fact, even Sahara Reporters announced it before I even knew about it” (sic), Jonathan said in the video.
After a thorough review of both the claimant’s video and the full interview, our fact-checker found no mention of either Tinubu or Sowore in the videos.
Further checks confirm that the context in which Jonathan was speaking in the video is unrelated to any political matter but shows the former president mourning his brother’s death. This was also corroborated by another X user, @SuoazOfficial, who posted the same video on the social media platform on November 17, 2024.
THE VERDICT
The claim that the video shows Jonathan exposing Sowore for working with Tinubu is MISLEADING; the video has been online since 2012 and shows the former president addressing State House audience following his brother’s death.
AN X user, Mohammed Jammal (@whitenigerian), has claimed that Nigeria recorded the lowest terrorism attacks in the last 10 years while citing an infographic attributed to Channels TV.
“Terrorist attacks in Nigeria at its lowest in over a decade,” the caption on his X post read.
The post has garnered over 250,000 views, with more than 700 reposts and over 2,500 likes as of March 12, 2025.
CLAIM
Nigeria recorded the lowest terrorism attacks in a decade.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is TRUE, according to the 2025 GTI.
The Global Terrorism Index (GTI) is a comprehensive study analysing the impact of terrorism for 163 countries, covering 99.7 per cent of the world’s population.
Produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) using data from Terrorism Tracker and other sources, the GTI produces a composite score to provide an ordinal ranking of countries on the impact of terrorism. The GTI scores each country on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 represents no impact from terrorism and 10 represents the highest measurable impact of terrorism.
Year
Incidents
Deaths
Injured
2024
99
565
177
2023
145
524
89
2022
120
385
147
2021
204
448
161
2020
–
–
–
2019
411
1245
419
2018
562
2040
772
2017
411
1532
852
2016
466
1832
919
2015
588
4940
2786
2014
662
7512
2246
Figures for Nigeria in the Global Terrorism Index, 2014 – 2024 reports. Source: GTI.
According to its latest ranking, released on March 5, 2025, Nigeria recorded 99 terrorism incidents in 2024, which is lower than the 145 incidents recorded in 2023. This is the lowest number of terror attacks recorded since 2014, according to previous Global Terrorism Index reports of the last 10 years reviewed by The FactCheckHub.
However, the number of deaths as a result of terrorism was 565, which is higher than the 524 and 385 recorded in 2023 and 2022, respectively. This was also reported by Channels TV on March 10, 2025.
However, the country rises in ranking to sixth in 2024 from eighth place it was in 2023 and 2022, among the top 10 countries most impacted by terrorism in the world.
The 2025 GTI report shows that while attacks in Nigeria decreased by 37 per cent, deaths from terrorism continue to rise, increasing by six per cent to 565 in 2024, and thus marking the highest death toll since 2020 due to ongoing conflict between Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram.
CREDITS: 2025 GTI report.
Together, fatalities attributed to these groups accounted for nearly 60 percent of all terrorism-related deaths in the country.
Five terror attacks that occurred in Nigeria in 2024 were also ranked among the world’s 50 most devastating.
The attacks, which took place in Yobe and Borno states, were carried out by Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province and ranked 7th, 9th, 24th, 30th, and 33rd on the global list in the report.
According to the report, the deadliest of the Nigerian attacks occurred on September 1, 2024, in Yobe State, when 100 people were killed in an armed assault by Boko Haram.
The attack was ranked the seventh-worst terrorist incident globally in 2024.
Another major attack took place on April 24, 2024, in Borno State, where 85 people lost their lives in an ISWAP-led armed attack. The attack was ranked ninth globally.
Other attacks in Nigeria listed in the report include an ISWAP attack on September 1, 2024, in Yobe, which resulted in 37 deaths and was ranked 24th; a jihadist attack in Borno on May 26, 2024, that claimed 30 lives and was ranked 30th; and a bombing by an unidentified jihadist group on June 29, 2024, in Borno, which also killed 30 people and was ranked 33rd among the world’s 50 most devastating incidents.
THE VERDICT
The claim that Nigeria recorded the lowest terrorism attacks in a decade is TRUE. However, the country shifted in ranking to 6th among the top 10 most impacted by terrorism from 8th position it was in 2022 and 2023, accounting for a very high number of deaths and some of the most devastating terrorism incidents in the world.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
* Infographic has been added to this report to replace the earlier featured image of Boko Haram terrorists.
AMIDST increasing efforts by fact-checking organizations globally to empower the public with information resilience skills, hoaxes, particularly those of celebrity death, continue to spread on Meta’s Facebook.
The FactCheckHub investigates some accounts identified for spreading such hoaxes on the social media platform and examines how replacing the third-party fact-checking programme with community notes could further exacerbate this disinformation practice.
While these developments are positioned as efforts to improve freedom of expression, they raise concerns about the potential proliferation of disinformation campaigns, particularly celebrity death hoaxes on social media.
Meta’s transition to Community-based moderation
Meta’s Community Notes model draws inspiration from a similar feature on X (formerly Twitter). This approach empowers users to add contextual notes to posts they deem misleading, thereby decentralizing content moderation.
Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, emphasized that this move aims to “allow more speech by lifting restrictions on some topics that are part of mainstream discourse.” This policy change is expected to be implemented across its platforms globally by 2026.
However, the fears of many people remain how effective the community notes is in curbing the spread of misinformation and tackling disinformation online, drawing perspectives from the X-style model which is already in use.
Celebrity death hoaxes on Facebook
Meta platforms, particularly Facebook, have increasingly become the hotspots for spreading disinformation, especially fake deaths of celebrities and notable individuals. The FactCheckHub uncovered some accounts perpetrating this scheme. Such act has been carried out for a long time in some Facebook groups monitored.
In some of these groups, some of the posts contain false death narratives of celebrities and other notable personalities. Activities of these accounts appeared to be coordinated influence campaigns. For instance, a Facebook account, News US1, posted a fake death of Mike Tyson after the retired heavyweight champion attended the inauguration of Donald Trump with Jake Paul in January 2025. This was earlier debunked by The FactCheckHub.
Despite the verification, many Facebook accounts continued to share the fake Tyson’s death in February 2025. For instance, news NNC, postedthe same claim on February 1, 2025. It was shared by 21 other users though it has few reactions and comments. Also, another Facebook user, Ben, posted the same claim on February 12, 2025. It garnered over 390 shares, plus 67 shares and 20 likes as of February 15, 2025.
Notably, the same claim was also shared in groups like video fee, US1, UN SOS2025 and Bringnow, among others. All these claims were shared in similar manner, with the same images and captions.
Screenshot of the claim retrieved from Facebook. INSERT: FALSE verdict.
Our fact-checker observed that Mike Tyson made a post on Facebook on February 11, 2025, the same platform where disinformation about his death was being spread. He posted a picture of himself with some kids putting on boxing gloves with a quote that reads: “It’s all about the next generation of fighters, I’m heavily invested in their future’”.
Justin Bieberis one of the celebrities affected by such hoaxes. Another social media user Rrong Rong posted the claim about Bieber’s death on February 7, 2025 in a Facebook group with no fewer than 59,000 members.
Checks by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE as Justin Bieber is alive. He posted some photos showing him and his girlfriend on Instagram on February 14, 2025 to mark Valentine’s Day – days after his death was announced on Facebook.
Rumours about his death have circulated multiple times on social media previously, most times stemming from hoaxes. For instance, false media reports that he had died in March 2023, was debunked by Snopes.
A post about the fake death of Justin Bieber retrieved from Facebook. INSERT: FALSE verdict.
Similarly, rumours about his death in a car crash in September 2024 were found to be FALSE, according to Fact Crescendo.
Another celebrity affected by these hoaxes is Simon Cowell, a British television producer, talent show judge, and music executive known for creating and judging hit shows such as American Idol, The X Factor, and Britain’s Got Talent e.t.c. The same Facebook account posted the false death of the TV host which gained traction online.
Findings by The FactCheckHub revealed that the claim is FALSE. As of February 19, 2025, Simon Cowell is alive and actively involved in his professional commitments. He posted a video on Instagram to announce the resumption of the ‘Britain Got Talent’ show, an audition show where he acted as one of the judges.
Recently, during the one of the audition, Cowell experienced a near-miss incident where a blindfolded performer, attempting to smash watermelons with a mallet around him, lost grip, leading to intervention by the crew to ensure his safety. This event left Cowell visibly shaken but unharmed as reported by Standard UK.
Celine Dion is another celebrity whose alleged death went viral on Facebook. A Facebook user named ajanimanlking posted a video reel on February 8, 2025 announcing the death of the popular R & B musician. But findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.
Recall that Dion has been the subject of multiple death hoaxes over the years. Notably, in November 2013, false reports claimed she had died in a car or plane crash, which she promptly refuted as reported here.
Recently in 2023, misleading information circulated widely, often rehashing old health news to falsely alleged her demise, but it was debunked by Snopes.
On February 14, 2025, the musician however announced her upcoming album billed to be released in April 2025 via her official Facebook page. This corroborates her living status.
Similarly, Snopes had earlier debunked false claims that American rapper and actor, Jaden Smith, and British actor Rowan Atkinson had died. Also recall that in August 2023, Lil Tay’s Instagram account was hacked, leading to a post that falsely reported the teen rapper’s death, Meta confirmed. These are but few among other celebrity death hoaxes that went viral on the Meta platform while some have made it to the mainstream media, a Poynterreport observed.
Meta could not be reached for official comments as at the time of filing this report, but we will update this report if we receive any response from the social media platform.
Potential risks of increased disinformation — Experts
The reliance on community-driven moderation raises concerns about the spread of false information, including premature or false reports of individuals’ deaths. Without professional fact-checkers, the responsibility falls on the user base, which may lack the expertise to accurately assess and debunk such claims. This could lead to the rapid dissemination of unverified or false information, causing unnecessary distress and confusion among members of the public, experts said.
Speaking with The FactCheckHub, Cole Praise, a fact-checker with Dubawa, emphasised the effectiveness of Facebook’s third-party fact-checking system when compared to X’s (formerly Twitter) Community Notes.
Praise argued that Facebook’s approach, which relies on users to police content, is ineffective because most users prioritize engagement over accuracy. He noted that misinformation spreads easily on Facebook since users are not conscious of verifying content before sharing.
“Fact-checkers were doing a great job serving as watchdogs to make sure that whatever content is passed is actually authentic. But now that it’s been erased by 2026 globally, I really do not see the situation getting any better. I think it will just get worse,” said Praise.
From Praise’s experience as a fact-checker, removing professional fact-checkers from Meta platforms will only worsen the spread of disinformation. He noted that for every claim verified, a misleading Facebook version often exists, which is rarely flagged as false. Instead, users like, share, and comment without questioning its accuracy. He emphasised that Facebook has not yet reached a stage where user-driven content moderation can replace dedicated fact-checkers and urges the platform to reinstate them for better content verification.
“While community fact-checking decentralizes the verification process and allows users to flag claims that may escape journalists, it also has serious limitations,” Adebajo explained.
“Many contributions lack professional rigor, are sometimes biased, or prioritize humour over accuracy. This is particularly concerning for misinformation in local languages, where professional newsrooms with linguistic expertise play a crucial role in verification,” he said.
He emphasised the need for a hybrid approach, combining professional fact-checking with community notes, while urging tech companies to collaborate closely with journalists to curb the spread of harmful misinformation.
Adebajo emphasized that many cases of misinformation are not driven by a deliberate intent to harm but by the pursuit of engagement through clickbait tactics.
“Social media algorithms often prioritize tragic or shocking news, such as the death of celebrities, because these stories attract more interactions,” he explained. This increased engagement helps pages gain followers, which can then be leveraged for website traffic or commercial gain.
Adebajo stressed that while journalists play a vital role in countering such misinformation, they cannot do it alone. He called for stronger collaboration between newsrooms and social media platforms through initiatives like third-party fact-checking programme, among others. These programmes, he noted, not only enable the hiring of full-time fact-checkers but also equip journalists with better verification skills.
“Tech companies should go beyond limiting the reach of false claims by imposing large-scale sanctions on those who repeatedly spread misleading information, especially when it involves coordinated networks of pages,” Adebajo opined.
Also speaking with The FactCheckHub, Ebunoluwa Olafusi, the Fact-check Editor at TheCable, describes Meta’s ending of its third-party fact-checking programme as a setback in the fight against misinformation on social media. With platforms like Facebook serving as primary news sources for many, she warns that distinguishing between true and false information will become more challenging. This change, she argued, could lead to an increase in misinformation, making it harder for users to verify facts.
She also highlighted the influence of social media influencers, whose followers often accept their content without questioning. In cases where influencers share false claims—such as fake death reports — users may spread disinformation before corrections appear.
Olafusi raised concerns about the reliability of Community Notes, especially when users fail to engage with fact-checking efforts or add biased interpretations that align with their views, echo chamber or confirmation bias.
The shift from structured fact-checking to community-based moderation, coupled with federal directives limiting government’s intervention in content moderation, creates an environment where misinformation and disinformation can thrive, she added.
False reports of individuals’ deaths are particularly disturbing, as they can spread rapidly and cause significant harm to the individuals or families involved. Social media platforms must find a balance between promoting free speech and implementing effective measures to prevent the spread of disinformation, analysts say.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
* This report has been updated to reflect Meta’s plans to implement ‘Community Notes’ globally in 2026.
A new report from the Knight-Georgetown Institute (KGI) in the United States has called for a fundamental shift in how social media and online platforms design their content recommendation algorithms.
The report titled: Better Feeds: Algorithms That Put People First, warns that the current engagement-driven systems fuel misinformation, promote divisive content, and compromise social media users well-being. Instead of optimizing for clicks, likes, and time spent on platforms, the authors advocate for a model that prioritizes long-term user satisfaction and societal benefits.
The report, by the Washington D.C.-based institute, highlights how major online platforms, including social media giants like Meta, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter), rely on recommendation algorithms that maximize engagement at the expense of user’s welfare.
These systems prioritize content that generates immediate reactions such as outrage, controversy, or sensationalism without considering the long-term effects on individuals and communities.
The report states that, “Maximizing the chances that users will click, like, share, and view content this week, this month, and this quarter aligns well with the business interests of tech platforms monetized through advertising.”
It stresses that this short-term focus can contribute to “the spread of low-quality or harmful information, reduced user satisfaction, problematic overuse, and increased polarization.”
To reform recommender systems, the report proposes a three-pronged framework. First, it calls for platforms to publicly disclose how their algorithms rank content, including data sources, weighting methods, and the metrics used to evaluate long-term user value.
Second, it suggests that users should be given the ability to switch between different recommendation models, with minors automatically receiving content designed to promote well-being.
Third, it recommends that platforms conduct year-long studies to analyze the long-term effects of algorithmic changes and make these results public.
Instead of relying solely on engagement-based ranking, the report explores alternative models. Bridging systems should prioritize content that fosters constructive dialogue and diverse perspectives rather than reinforcing echo chambers, it notes.
“Platforms must offer users an easily accessible choice of different recommender systems. At least one of these choices must be optimized to support long-term value to users,” the report recommends.
It also recommends that platforms should collect direct feedback from users on content quality and satisfaction to refine recommendations, adding that systems should factor in credibility, informativeness, and safety in ranking content rather than just engagement metrics.
The findings come at a time when governments around the world are scrutinizing the role of algorithms in shaping public discourse.
The European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) has already implemented transparency and risk assessment requirements for online and tech platforms, and several U.S. states have passed laws targeting social media algorithms that disproportionately affect minors.
Despite legislative interest, many regulatory efforts have been challenged in court on First Amendment grounds. The KGI report suggests that instead of outright bans on personalization or chronological feeds, a more nuanced approach is needed—one that encourages responsible algorithmic design while preserving user experience.
The report emphasizes that the goal is not to eliminate recommender systems but to refine them to serve users and society better.
“By following this expert working group’s guidance summarized below, platforms and policymakers can help to address the harms associated with recommender systems while preserving their potential to enhance user experiences and societal value.
“This report serves as a roadmap for any policymaker or product designer interested in promoting algorithmic systems that put users’ long-term interests front and centre,” the report concludes.
AN X user, @Innocent_Zikky, has posted a video showing a man dancing at a party with a claim that it shows former Nigeria’s Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, dancing at a music show hosted by the Nigerian Afrobeat singer, Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, popularly called Wizkid.
He posted the video with a caption thus: “You remember when Atiku attended Wizkid’s show?“
The post has garnered over 320,000 views with more than 7,000 likes, over 600 reposts and over 300 bookmarks as of March 5, 2025.
Similarly, another X account, @MachalaDoctor, also posted the same video with another caption that read:
“Former vice president of Nigeria Atiku Vibing to Wizkid in his Tottenham concert.”
The post has also gained some traction on the X platform.
CLAIM
Video shows Atiku Abubakar dancing at a Wizkid concert.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING, as the man in the video is not Atiku Abubakar while the Wizkid concert was held in July 2023 and not recently.
Our fact-checker ran a keyword search with “atiku at wizkid concert” on the X platform and the results show that the same X account had earlier posted the video in May 2024 and again in June 2024.
Another X user, @shegzedon, also posted the same video in June 2024 with another misleading caption that read: “Atiku at Wizkid’s Tottenham concert.”
Screenshot of the viral video post on X. INSERT: MISLEADING verdict.
The video was attributed to the Wizkid concert, “More Love, Less Ego,” which was held at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England on July 29, 2023. There’s no publicly available record that shows that Atiku attended the concert.
Further analysis of the man’s facial features in the video revealed that he is not the former vice president. Atiku Abubakar has a narrow, slightly elongated nose, whereas the man in the video has a broader nose.
A clear frame showing the face of the man in the viral video seen on X.
Additionally, Atiku is taller, while the man in the video has a stockier physique. The man’s appearance also suggests he is younger, in contrast to Atiku, who is already 78 years old.
Atiku Abubakar, former Nigerian Vice President.
THE VERDICT
The claim that the video shows Atiku Abubakar dancing at a Wizkid concert is MISLEADING; the man in the video is a completely different person while the Wizkid concert was held in July 2023 and not recently.
The post has generated more than 700,000 views, with over 500 reposts and more than 2,000 likes as of March 4, 2025.
CLAIM
Nigeria is the cheapest country to live in Africa.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE., as the most recent data show that Libya is the cheapest country to live in Africa.
Cost of living, the financial requirement to sustain a basic standard of living like food, housing, healthcare, and transportation etc, is the yardstick for determining how cheap or costly a country is to live in.
According to Investopedia, Cost of living data includes the expenses incurred for food, shelter, transportation, energy, clothing, education, healthcare, childcare, and entertainment. It noted that a cost of living index tracks how much basic expenses for these categories rise over time and in different regions.
A screenshot showing the X post. INSERT: FALSE verdict.
“It can demonstrate how need-based expenses vary from one area to another. The costs of consumer goods and services vary between urban and suburban residential areas,” it stated.
In Africa, it’s a key factor for individuals and businesses when choosing where to settle, analysts say.
The Cost of Living Index (CLI) is the metric for measuring the relative expense of living in different countries by analyzing the prices of essential goods and services, excluding rent.
A lower CLI indicates a more affordable cost of living, meaning people can meet their basic needs with less money, while a higher CLI suggests higher expenses and financial strain. The index is often used to compare economic conditions across countries or cities and assess affordability trends over time. When rent is included, a separate index—such as the Cost of Living Plus Rent Index—provides a more comprehensive picture of living expenses.
Numbeo, a crowd-sourced global database, provides data on the cost of living, housing, healthcare, crime, pollution, traffic, and other economic indicators across cities and countries. It also allows users to compare living expenses worldwide.
It is not unlikely that the X user relied on the data supplied by the platform in January 2024, which ranked Nigeria as the country with the lowest Cost of Living Index (19.0). The data was also reported by Business Day. This is perhaps because it is the top result when such a query is searched on Google.com.
However, findings by The FactCheckHub show that Nigeria has lost that position since mid-2024 and dropped to the 12th position after its CLI increased to 31.4.
According to the 2025 data, Libya is the country with the lowest cost of Living in Africa with a CLI of 18.6, followed by Egypt (19.0) and Madagascar (20.7) while Nigeria is 7th with a CLI of 26.4.
When the cost of house rent is factored in, Libya maintains its first position in Africa with a CLI of 12.1 while Nigeria dips further to the 18th position with a CLI of 24.4.
Further checks affirm that Nigeria is not the cheapest country with the lowest cost of living as another recent 2025 data published by WorldData.info puts the country in the 10th position in Africa.
In its “Comparison of worldwide cost of living” report, Egypt ranks 1st in Africa with a CLI of 18.2, followed by Zimbabwe, Libya, Tanzania, Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, Kenya and Lesotho. The report says it based the calculated cost of living index on the OECD, the Worldbank, the IMF and Eurostat figures.
This may not be unconnected to the economic hardships in the country fuelled by tough policies by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Nigerian government, such as the removal of fuel and electricity subsidies and the floating of the naira, which have triggered inflation and worsened the nation’s cost of living.
The removal of subsidies led to soaring fuel prices, which increased transportation costs and, in turn, drove up the prices of goods and services. Meanwhile, the floating of the naira caused a sharp depreciation of the currency, making imports more expensive and further fueling inflation. As a result, the purchasing power of Nigerians has significantly declined, making necessities such as food, housing, healthcare, and education more difficult to afford.
THE VERDICT
The claim that Nigeria is the cheapest country to live in Africa is FALSE, recent data show that Libya is the cheapest country to live in Africa, followed by Egypt, Madagascar, Algeria, Tunisia and Uganda while Nigeria takes 7th position.
