By Esther Adeniji
#TrackNigeria: The Acting Director General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Dr Bakut Tswah Bakut has urged Nigerians to shun fake news from the social media.
Bakut, who made the call at a news conference on Wednesday in Abuja, advocated for the ideals of conflict-sensitive reporting and peace journalism.
“The role of the media is crucial and indeed a necessity for the education of the electorate and sensitisation of the masses.
“The media is also very useful for the mobilisation of all and sundry for the success of the elections,” he said.
The IPCR boss also advised media practitioners to be weary of negative reports, which could fuel conflicts and induce ethno-religious divides.
Bakut appealed to social media users to be responsible with the news they released on various social media platforms.
“Social media should be used to educate, enlighten, sensitise and mobilise the people for positive development.
“We should renounce the habit of spreading fake and false news because these only destroy the society rather than build it,” he added.
