Cross-party Collaboration Needed To Combat Fake News In Nigeria, Says Tech Entrepreneur

The phenomenon of fake news and its impact on democracy all over the world needs to be nipped in the bud if nations are concerned about their unity and harmony, said Joel Poopola, the United Kingdom-based tech entrepreneur behind the novel Rate Your Leader app.

Rate Your Leader is a global online platform which helps politicians to engage only with voters in their constituencies in an abuse-proof way.

The technology allows elected leaders to truly understand what matters most to the people who elect them while allowing local people to identify and contact their representatives at the touch of a button, direct from their phones or tablets.

The app, which also allows people to check to see if they are registered to vote and identify their elected representatives at the touch of a button, is free to download from the App Store and other app marketplaces.

The public launch of the platform holds in Nigeria in early 2020.

In a statement signed by Popoola, he urged electors to embrace new technology to ‘take back democracy’ or risk the downside.

“From military rule to Africa’s biggest democracy, Nigeria has come so far in my lifetime. But fake news threatens our fledgling democracy. Fake news of fake explosions, fake massacres, fake roads and even a fake President are all inimical to our growth as a society. This cannot continue,” Popoola stated.

He added, “This goes beyond politics. All parties need to work together to combat a menace that endangers our international reputation and our very democracy. Independent international studies have shown the influence social media misinformation had on our most recent election. This cannot happen again. We cannot let people be conned.”

Popoola said, “We are today publishing this open letter to ask every one of Nigeria’s political parties, the federal government, members of the National and State Houses of Assembly and other political office holders to nominate a representative to sit on the new advisory board we are creating to use the power of social media for good and to deliver democracy which is enhanced by digital technology, not endangered by it,” he stated.

He concluded that misinformation is a weapon of mass destruction, which threatens Nigerian democracy and “we need to come together to combat it.”