Africa Check Nigeria editor, David Ajikobi has said that it is wrong to refer to members of the public and untrained individuals who participate in news sharing, by means of social media, as ‘Citizen Journalists’.
While speaking on the proliferation of false information at the Facts MattersNG Campaign against misinformation, Ajikobi said it is a dent on journalism to refer to members of the public who engage in ‘user-generated content’ as citizen journalists, as there are no citizen doctors or lawyers.
He stated that most of those referred to as ‘Citizen Journalists’ do not care what sort of information makes it into the media space, as long as it can advance their followership and make them trend.
Citing an instance in which he educated certain people who were sharing false information, he said that they still requested that it should be allowed to at least “trend first”.
Ajikobi alongside other speakers at the event, called for fact-based reports and strict adherence to the ethical codes of the profession.
While speaking on the dangers of unverified news and reports that are rife in the media space, he shared strategies for checking the validity of information before publishing.
Among his recommendations is checking for the motives and agenda of the originator of the information.
According to Ajikobi, “Misinformation is deliberate and those who share it have a motive, benefit or agenda to push. When you can identify the agenda, it arms you with how to tackle the information provided.”
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