Nigeria battles fake news amidst tension over election results

By Ben Ezeamalu

Posted on Tuesday, 28 February 2023 12:10
A roadside vendor displayed headlines of various publications during the Nigeria Presidential election at a polling station at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja on February 25, 2023. (Photo by Olukayode Jaiyeola/NurPhoto) (Photo by Olukayode Jaiyeola / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP)

As Nigerians cast their ballots to elect a new president and federal lawmakers on 25 February, a video began to circulate on social media showing soldiers shooting down a gunman at a polling centre.

The poster said it was happening “live at my polling unit [right now]” and hash-tagged, among others, Surulere in Lagos where pockets of violence had been reported. Another Twitter user said the incident was “happening now in Ikorodu,” a Lagos suburb.

The video went viral. But it was fake news.