Dr Tope Ojeme, a lecturer at Baze University, Abuja, has called on Artificial Intelligence (AI) developers to design digital applications that can identify fake news and curb unethical media practices in Nigeria.
Ojeme made the call in a statement issued on Wednesday in Port Harcourt by Joseph Obari, Registrar of the West Africa Broadcast Media Academy (WABMA).
According to the statement, Ojeme addressed participants during the closing ceremony of the Second Quarter Courses of WABMA in Abuja, where he presented a paper.
Speaking on the theme “Beyond debunking: Building a Culture of Media Integrity in Africa’s Next Century”, Ojeme stressed the urgent need to tackle the surge of misinformation and disinformation on the continent.
He said AI-powered tools would help empower citizens to confront purveyors of fake news and hold public officials accountable.
“We must empower African developers, engineers, and creators to build AI-powered fact-checking plugins for newsrooms, and blockchain-based archives to safeguard journalistic content from tampering,” he said.
“These tools will also help secure open-data platforms, enabling citizens to demand accountability from their leaders.”
Ojeme warned that without urgent intervention, Africa could be overwhelmed by dangerous myths and falsehoods that undermine truth and science.
According to him, “we could soon find ourselves in a world where fake cures go viral; conspiracy theories infiltrate classrooms, and elections are manipulated by digital bots.”
He added that such trends would gradually erode public trust — the foundation of any democratic society.
Ojeme, who is also a media practitioner, acknowledged that while technology had fuelled the rise of fake news, it also possessed the capacity to reinforce truth through robust algorithms.
He said such algorithms could be engineered to prioritise the verification of information, uncover fabrications, and expose distortions of fact.
He further cautioned that the unchecked spread of fake news and the growing use of deepfake technology to alter video content posed grave threats to already vulnerable societies.
“This looming threat highlights the urgency of building systems of truth – ecosystems of integrity, legal frameworks to protect truth-telling journalists, and the establishment of ‘truth desks’ in media organisations,” he said.
“There is a pressing need to confront this challenge head-on.”
“We are living in an age of noise, where the loudest microphone commands attention, speed supersedes sense, and volume overwhelms value,” Ojeme concluded.
Earlier, Dr Ken Okere, Rector of WABMA, noted that the academy’s mission went beyond media training, focusing also on instilling an understanding of the power and responsibility of communication.
He awarded certificates to participants who completed the media and communication courses and presented cash prizes to the top three entries in the DebunkIt Challenge.
Okere said the DebunkIt Challenge was organised to commemorate the 100th edition of the WABMA Fake News Debunker, which launched in April 2022.
(NAN)