Facebook is teaming up with two Nigerian companies, Big Cabal Media and Comic Republic to combat fake news. They are to launch the #NoFalseNewsZone educational campaign, which aims to teach people how to spot fake news and how to prevent it from spreading it on the internet and elsewhere in Nigeria. This is a piece of welcome news in a country where any news is a hot cake and hence spreads like wildfire.
SUMMARY: Facebook is collaborating with Nigerian companies, Big Cabal Media and Comic Republic, to launch the #NoFalseNewsZone, which is an educational campaign to combat fake news. The campaign aims to help Nigerians identify fake news and educate them on how to minimize the spread of false information across the internet. Facebook has also launched the 2021 edition of its “Safe Online Forum” in Nigeria.
How they intend to combat fake news
According to the Guardian Nigeria, Facebook’s Corporate Communications Manager for Anglophone West Africa, Oluwasola Obagbemi, said, “We are incredibly happy to be collaborating with Big Cabal Media and Comic Republic to establish #NoFalseNewsZone in Nigeria.”
The social media giant, according to Obagbemi, is dedicated to the well-being of individuals and communities on their famous platform, which is apparently used by many Nigerians.
Big Cabal, a Nigerian digital media company that aims to engage African youth with content that helps lead “the most engaging conversations around all the things that matter to the youth today,” has joined Nigerian comic book publisher Comic Republic, which publishes comic books illustrated and written by Nigerian creators, in leading conversations to educate Nigerians on how to identify and defend themselves.
“Information is increasingly sourced from digital news outlets and social media platforms around the world. The consequences of spreading incorrect information are obvious, and especially distressing for those who are affected. Big Cabal Media is dedicated to connecting people to reliable news sources, and it’s thrilled to collaborate with Facebook on the #NoFalseNewsZone campaign,” said Tomiwa Aladekomo, CEO of Big Cabal Media.
“As more individuals spend time in front of screens, absorbing news and information on social media, service providers must become more socially responsible in order to effectively battle disinformation on their platforms.
“I am delighted to be working with Facebook, a corporation that has taken the bold step of using the longest and most relevant art form to tell the story of disinformation in order to create the desired attitudinal change,” Jide Martin, CEO of Comic Republic, noted.
“Since then, Comic Republic has utilized comics to bring attention to issues such as social inequality, online safety, and domestic abuse. We’re thrilled to be working together on art for a good cause, and we can’t wait to show you what we’ve come up with.”
In Nigeria, Facebook has also inaugurated the 2021 edition of its “Safe Online Forum,” which brings together teachers, parents, and other key education players to debate new ways to promote and ensure online safety and digital literacy for the country’s youth.