The recent twitter craze about a controversial new law in Eritrea that featured mock pictures of Nigerians travelling to the country to marry new wives and people tweeting links to the Eritrea's visa application documents is another reflection of the untold rot that social media breeds in the African society.

The story which was first published online on a Kenyan news site called Crazy Monday said that to make up for the shortage of men in the country, following the civil war with Ethiopia from 1998-2000, every man must marry at least two women or face imprisonment.

It turned out that the story which had gained prominence and suggested to be true in African countries like Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa was a hoax.

In a tweet, Eritrea's Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel said "the story illustrates [the] vileness of the dark forces of disinformation and proclivity of others to readily embrace the negative narrative on Eritrea"

As digital transformation continues to alter virtually every aspect of broadcast journalism in Africa and across the globe, the biggest challenge of the Internet media among others is its lack of credibility.

Unlike the traditional media, very few blogs and websites painstakingly confirm and balance their stories before publishing. The unchecked and speedy consumption of these junks also reflect the intellectual soundness of the growing users of the internet in Africa.

Access to the social media via increasing internet connection and the introduction of digital Pay TV with wider range of channels no doubt have exposed the African audience to an exceptional great volume of information, making them active members of the global community.

This new exposure has also significantly changed the way the public obtains its news and information, and has deprived the mass media its traditional monopoly in Africa.

Perhaps the high point of digital transformation is the amazing public participation in news gathering, reportage and analysis that inspires the new trend of citizen journalism.

It is however yet to be determined whether the African audience now make better judgment of national development and political assessment of their countries via the social media.

The role social media like Facebook and twitter played in Nigeria’s general election in 2015 for instance, cannot be ignored both in sensitizing the electoral populace on the need to vote and the many electioneering thoughts that shaped the outcome of the election.

The dearth of quality control and the seeming ease with which social media administrators manipulate the public with false content and screaming headlines is no doubt the growing concern for advocates of balanced, credible and investigative work of broadcast journalism in Africa.

The last time the Nigerian senate deliberated on moderating the reckless abandon with which bloggers in the country make unconfirmed and false claims about public figures, it generated a public protest against what was termed a proposed infringement on the freedom of speech.

I understand that sometimes it’s hard to trust the integrity and motive behind such proposals by our lawmakers given their antecedents but we must also be reminded that power is nothing without control.

Recently, an English weekly newspaper, The Economist, referred to a former Nigerian President as “an ineffectual buffoon”. And in case you are in doubt, the Merriam Webster dictionary defines buffoon as a stupid or foolish person who tries to be funny. Doesn’t that sound like an expression inspired by the regular unprofessional Nigerian blogger?

And it’s possible you laughed the first time you heard it or even nodded in approval. It doesn’t matter which side of the political divide you belong, I consider it 'unafrican' and indeed a national insult to have made such remarks about an ex Nigerian President.

As breaking the news becomes the hallmark of modern day broadcasting which happens to be the cutting edge of the new media, the traditional mass media is being challenged by the popularity and coverage of a new generation of broadcast journalism evolving on the social media space.

However, as mass media evolve and digital transformation takes its toll, one thing will surely remain. It is called Journalism; the passionate dissemination of factual, balanced, well written and credible news that is timely and relevant.

Nifemi Oguntoye
Broadcast Journalist/Compere