Purveyors of fake news should be prosecuted, says Sam Omatseye
By Henry Akubuiro
NOVELIST, poet, playwright and the Chairman of The Nation newspaper’s Editorial Board, Mr. Sam Omatseye, has decried the prevalence of “dunces” online as a result of the democratisation of media spaces on the internet in the 21st century. Speaking recently on “Information in an Age of Flux” at a public lecture organised by Trinity University, Yaba, Lagos, Omatseye said information dissemination had changed over the years, fostering ease in communication while creating many problems.
Omatseye, who had a long stint as a journalist in America before returning to Nigeria, was honoured by the university in recognition of his sterling contributions to journalism in Nigeria and abroad. Highlighting the recent transformation in the media industry, he said: “With the coming of the internet, things began to change, and fast. Everything I reported in the early 2000s had started to take on a furious reality.
“Exit fantasy. Exit television as a superpower. Enter Facebook and X. Enter YouTube and Instagram. Welcome the citizen journalist. Everyone could be a reporter, editor and commentator. The online world had become a leveller and topsy-turvy. Anyone was as good as a domain,” he informed, while acknowledging that the online world generates wealth for the “truly creatives” alongside “the creative rascal, and even buffoon.
This, he said, had “made society unfortunate in many respects while expanding opportunities. It has also given us an age of dunces.” The journalist-writer regretted that every online junky now wants to go viral no matter the information being shared. “Today, to be viral is a wish of the majority of online junkies. It is a disease they embrace. It makes them rich, famous and sought-after. In short, it makes them virile,” he said.
He decried further, “New technology has invented a new virus called populism. People are now becoming celebrities by accident through the use of social media. We’ve entered a disruptive era. People who publish outright lies should be prosecuted.” He recounted a personal experience last year when he wrote a piece on “Obi-tuary”, which led to many death threats, yet “none of them could be isolated or prosecuted, adding that “media types who did not share my view escalated the incitements.”
Sam Omatseye
Lamenting the prevalence of fake news on social media in Nigeria, Omatseye remarked, “There is a lot of fake news going on, especially during the election. The government has always been dismissing it. The government should not just dismiss fake news, but the government should ensure that people that peddle fake news are taken to court. That’s why I supported Fasola for going to court because someone said he wrote a court judgment.”
He therefore called for the effectiveness of the law, which would serve as a deterrent to others. The Chairman, Governing Council of Trinity University, Engr. Bayo Kolade, who spoke earlier, said the days of information technology called for strategic thinking, since social media and AI had changed the way and manner information was consumed.
