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Fake News: FG Announces New Social Media Laws Ahead Of 2023 Elections

The Federal Government on Wednesday announced that is has put new laws in place in the country’s social media space to curb fake news and disinformation ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Disclosing this, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the owners of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram will adhere to the new rules.
In his welcome address at the 12th edition of the ‘PMB Administration Scorecard Series (2015-2023)’, Mohammed reiterated that fake news and disinformation constitute a clear and present danger to the success of the 2023 elections, “just like violence, insecurity, vote buying, and attack on INEC facilities, among others.”
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He added, “In this regard, I want to acknowledge the announcement by Meta, the owners of Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp, that it will take clearly-outlined steps to protect the integrity of the forthcoming elections.
“Specifically, Meta detailed the actions it plans to take to combat disinformation and to make political advertising more transparent.”
The company committed to these actions before, during and after the elections.
The minister said it hopes Meta will live up to its promise while urging other platform owners like Google (owners of YouTube and others), ByteDance (owners of TikTok), Twitter and the Telegram Group Inc. (owners of Telegram messenger) to emulate Meta by taking positive steps to prevent the spread of fake news, disinformation and hate speech via their platforms ahead, during and after the 2023 elections.
