By Olisa Ifeajika
Abuja, Jan. 25, 2019 (NAN) A Mass Communication teacher, Mallam Sule Sule, on Friday, urged the media to observe restraint in publicising terrorists’ activities in the country.
Instead, he said that the media should focus on and propagate the efforts of the Federal Government, including the military, in combating insurgency.
Sule, who teaches at Bayero University, Kano, made the call at a Nigeria-Army Media Conference on “Enhancing Media-Military Relationship for Effective Fight against Terrorism and Insurgency in Nigeria”, in Abuja.
He said that journalists should be patriotic in reporting the insurgency because they had the responsibility to protect national interest, especially for national security.
He noted that fake news phenomenon was fast permeating news reportage in the country and advised managers of news in traditional or conventional media to be circumspect and eliminate the menace in the system.
The teacher urged the media leverage the Freedom of Information Act in accessing or verifying necessary information on issues to ensure that facts were presented at all times.
On military operations on the insurgency in the North-East, he said “the army should not be economical with information. It should be transparent and take the media into confidence always.
“And, editors should distinguish themselves and not be purveyors of fake news. They must be careful and conduct thorough checks on serious and sensitive issues before publishing.’’
He advised against the struggle among media organisations, “to be the first to break the news’’, adding that such race must be downplayed.
According to Sule, the race to break the news first has been identified as a major factor engendering fake news dissemination.
He accused the social media of being the major purveyor of fake news and urged the traditional media to desist from picking information from that source, describing it as “unauthentic and dangerous’’.
“Even when you find an information on the social media interesting, always fact-check through various means before publishing,’’ he advised. (NAN)
