A group called, Safeguarding Online Civic Space (SOCS) in partnership with the Nigerian media has launched a campaign to tackle misinformation as Nigerians elect a new President to come Saturday, February 25.
Speaking at a meeting with media partners in Abuja, Dr Funmi Akinyele, Chair of SOCS, stated that the campaign was part of plans to protect Nigeria’s online civic space before, during and after the conduct of the general elections.
Akinyele explained that SOCS group is a loose cluster of mostly youth-led Civil Society Organizations and Business Membership Organizations from diverse areas within the social sector.
She added that the overarching goal of the project is to protect online civic space by combating voter misinformation and disinformation while improving access to accurate civic information inclusively.
The SOCS Group is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through the Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement Project.
She said: “Unfortunately, some individuals, either by omission or commission, have distorted information, leading to misinformation, disinformation, and malformation. The misuse and repression of both offline and digital civic spaces, no doubt, have contributed to the perceptions, mostly negative, of members of the international community about Nigeria.
“To address this, the Safeguarding Digital Civic Space for Electoral Integrity (SDSEI) project is engaging critical stakeholders across government, telecommunications, civil society and the general public, who have been united by an overarching interest in protecting the online civic space to maximize the benefits and minimize the threats for proper enlightenment and education of the populace on their civic rights regarding the general elections, irrespective of cultural, religious and political affiliations.
“We are asking the media to support us in our efforts to combat voter misinformation and disinformation, improve inclusive voter and civic education and generate evidence regarding the openness and integrity of the digital civic space while tracking the political, and economic environment by giving the project the required publicity so that it gets to every part of the country.
“We expect that you will offer web links, online broadcasts, and reports that will portray the above-mentioned SDSEI objectives. We look forward to developing a solid partnership with you that will last far beyond the project.”
The group, therefore, appealed to the media to kindly use their platforms to establish a supportive climate where the project’s success determines the electoral landscape’s agenda and serves as a watchdog for future elections.
“We will use hashtags to drive home this message on our social media platforms and use it for branding. The hashtags are: #ProtectYourVote9ja, #YourVoteMatters9ja #NoToFakeNews9ja.
“The digital civic space must be safeguarded to enhance the integrity of the electoral process, especially with the introduction of digital tools. Once again, we enjoin all and sundry to cooperate with us as we traverse the six geo-political zones of the nation in our quest to safeguard the digital civic space by combating misinformation, disinformation and online harassment,” Akinyele said.
