JOURNALISTS TOLD TO FACT CHECK ALL INFORMATION FOR ACCURACY

six-day training on Fact-Checking and Investigative Journalism, for selected journalists in the South-East Zone, is in progress in Awka, Anambra State.

During the opening of the training, the Provost, Nigerian Institute of Journalism, NIJ, Mr Gbenga Ogunleye, advised media professionals to take fact checking seriously in their reportage for truth and accuracy.

Mr Ogunleye expresses worry at the rate fake news spreads and its adverse impact on the society, and charged journalists to imbibe the culture of fact checking to stem the tide.

He appealed to media professionals to be skeptical about every information available to them and to take the pains of evaluating them to prevent a situation, where accuracy and truth would be sacrificed on the altar of timeliness.

The NIJ Provost argued that fake news was a huge security threat that could set a nation ablaze hence the need to ascertain the veracity of any information before disseminating it.

He listed information that needed fact checking to include: trending statements that had gone viral on social media, advertisements or other information containing superlatives.

Three of Radio Nigeria Correspondents Uche Ndeke, Ejiofor Umegbogu and Alfred Ajayi are attending the training, which is organized by Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism funded by European Union and supported by the British Council.

UCHE NDEKE