THE Nigerian Government has urged the United States to support efforts at instituting best practices in the media space, particularly fact-checking mechanisms towards curbing the spread of misinformation.
Nigerian minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, conveyed this message during a meeting with US Charge d’Affaires, David Greene, on Tuesday.
The minister also reaffirmed Nigeria’s unwavering commitment to the fundamental principles of press freedom, stressing its pivotal role in fostering a vibrant democracy and transparency in governance.
READ : Nigerian government rolls out policy to ‘sanitise’ social media platforms
“While we are for press freedom, we also want to call on the government of the United States to support efforts at instituting best practices in the media space, particularly fact-checking mechanisms towards reducing the spate of misinformation, fake news, and mal-information,” Idris said.
The minister also emphasized Nigeria’s commitment to democracy, saying it was important for the United States, as a key ally, to deepen support for the Nigerian government and its efforts towards reviving the Nigerian economy.
Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via [email protected] and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.