BY LAOLU AKANDE*

First let me say how liberating to be back to the life of a journalist. I will say more on this very soon. For now I am burdened as a citizen on the problem of Fake news. Having served 8 years as a public servant working as a political appointee, I have witnessed the inherent damages of fake news. As you can imagine I have been a serial victim myself, most time on behalf of my principal.



Here are 4 reasons citizens and in our case, Nigerians should reject fake news.



1. Fake news worsens the cynicism between governments and their people. In fact, fake news ab intio thrives on that distrust. The problem is, while a certain level of cynicism would always exist in society and especially between governments and their people, fake news escalates it and makes the needed synergy between governments and their people difficult if not impossible. Danger is, no series or sustainable development is possible without such synergy. Fake news damages that.

2. Fake news rubbishes the notion of a free and illustrious press. It was Thomas Jefferson who said on Jan 16 1787 that the “basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” So you can imagine how fake news messes with the development of the people’s opinion. Therefore every loyal citizen must actively reject fake news because it would blur the true opinions of the people and damages the role of a free, true press in our society

3. Also fake news distract attention from the more important work of democracy and the right pursuit of the good, welfare, and safety of the largest number of people. A fake news item will often redirect our focus from serious matters and use our own human emotions to confuse us and creates tension where there should be attention.

Finally, fake news many times preys on our lower human instincts. It rubbishes our sense of decency and civility reducing us to very base instincts. Fake news preys for instance on the tensions in our diversity: especially ethnic and religious. It promotes hatred and negative stereotypes. Fake news kills our desire and aspirations to rise above small-mindedness because it’s engages in merchandising our past failures as a nation and as a people. Tell me why should decent people of goodwill fall for this kind of low-life?


I have restrained for now to cite any particular example from my experience serving the Nigerian people this past years so that this is not misconstrued in any way. We must work hard, especially all communication professionals to kill fake news and agree a template to fight it. As things stands today there is no such framework at all.


To conclude, I have compiled 7 tips already listed by several sources and some of my own ideas on how to identify fake news, thus:



1. Check the source: For Nigerian news, it's important to verify the source of the news before sharing it. Check if the source is from reputable Nigerian media outlets. You can determine that for instance by looking at other news on the site. On WhatsApp never believe any news that don’t carry a link. You will see Breaking or Breaking News, don’t pay attention except it has a legitimate link.



2. Look at the headline: Be wary of sensational headlines that exaggerate the story. Some news outlets are known to use provocative headlines to grab readers' attention. While it is ok to be reasonably sensational be very cautious of headlines that seem too good to be true positively or negatively.



3. Check the date: Fake news items are sometimes churned out years after the actual event. Ensure that you verify the date of publication or event to be sure it is up-to-date. In relating with my support team while heading up the Media team of immediate past VP, Prof. Osinbajo, SAN, we developed the term -RE-TRENDS or RE-TRENDING. This is when perhaps your opponents or those who have a cause to damage your reputation would go and revive a fake news, or baseless news report and rehash it as if it’s news. They don’t date it for obvious reasons creating the impression that it is new and recent. This is why any item that does not carry a date should be completely ignored. You won’t miss a thing. If the story is true, you won’t miss it.



4. Look for supporting evidence: Fake news creators often don't provide supporting evidence for their claims. Verify facts contained within the story before sharing. They will often rely on the empirical fact that must people only read headlines.



5. Read beyond the headline: Fake news publishers in Nigeria tend to include deceptive introductory paragraphs that are contrary to the information contained in the article. Make sure you read beyond the headlines to verify what's reported.



6. Check other sources: Cross-check the story with other credible media outlets, or fact-checking websites. If the story or particular headline is only being reported by one source, it's advisable to second-guess its authenticity.



7. Use fact-checking tools: There are several fact-checking sites. Always make sure you check with a reliable fact-checking source before sharing any news item.



8. Finally depend only on trusted sources for your daily news. And there are many around. In the last two weeks vacating in the USA, where I had lived 17 straight years before 2015, I realized that incidence of fake news, especially on WhatsApp is very low. I intend to further under-study that. But it is clear that people here depend more on credible sources of information.

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League

Who will Win?

Video of a man beaten up by thug for saying this about President Buhari


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp8SoaWecOQ

David Adeleke's love and fiancé, the mother of his last child, Chioma Avril Rowland, Celebrates her twenty fifth (25th) birthday today. Birthday wishes and prayers have been pouring in for her on different platforms of social media, including The "Blow my mind" crooner who showered praises on her. He described her as the strongest woman he knows....

More at...

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_nCZhhlWHH/?igshid=12ui46ounacf4

Reports has it that Nigerian comedian Abdulgafar Abiola popularly known as thecuteAbiola , has been arrested by the Nigerian Navy.
It was gathered that the comedian who is also a Naval officer was arrested around 7pm on Wednesday, April, 29, 2020 in Lagos for posing in his official uniform in the birthday pictures he shared on Instagram.

Source

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_m9gBqFebY/?igshid=14ncb263hcfsy

Head wey go chop knock go chop am even if he wear cap

After beating his wife to pulp, a young man reports himself to the soldiers in the neighbourhood and they did this to him.

Please subscribe



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMIb3iJdnWo

Fake SARS official arrested and when they were asked to show their IDs they brought out a fake ID and were beaten.

After thorough beating, they confessed they were Bus drivers and conductor.

Please watch the video below....and please subscribe....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzOi7PuRztw

click the link below to see full video

https://youtu.be/COfTxy5axXo

Efoghae Friday, 21, is assisting the police in Ado Ekiti to explain why and for what purpose he allegedly stole a pant belonging to a grandmother in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State.

The said underwear, belonging to Mrs Modupe Adekoya, was allegedly stolen from her residence, No.15, Olorunsogo St., Basiri Area of Ado Ekiti.

It was learnt that some of policemen attached to the Irewolede Police Station arrested Friday on Tuesday afternoon after a report was made by a relative of the old woman.

It was also learnt that the suspect and three others arrested in connection with the crime were later transferred to the New Iyin Road Police station on Bank Road, Ado Ekiti same day.

It was there that Efoghae allegedly confessed to committing the crime

See more at

https://newsnaija365..com/2019/06/21-years-old-efoghae-friday-steals-his.html?m=1

A man was seen laying on a grave he dug due to incomplete payment from the family. The man was adamant as he was so keen on collecting his full amount with interest.

Reports Read:
“The man lying in the grave is not actually the deceased.He is the person who dug the grave.He wasn’t paid and During The Burial.. he jumped into the grave that no burial until his full amount is paid with interest.”

See more at

https://newsnaija365..com/2019/06/photo-grave-digger-blocks-funeral.html?m=1

Useless? Like seriously?

Can a phone be useless?

I termed it useless to me because the phones im about to list here doesn't perform half the function the Samsung Galaxy S10 does but surprisingly they worth over 100 million naira.

But Why? Let's keep going


When we talk about the most expensive smartphone in the world, I know most people will think maybe its the Apple iPhone X series or the Samsung Galaxy fold.

The most expensive smartphone is none of the above mentioned because these two mentioned above (Apple iPhone X series and the Samsung Galaxy fold) are far lesser or should I say cheaper than one of the 4 most ugly and expensive smartphone in the world because the least of this four is worth $177k approx 63 million Naira, what an insane price isn't it?

Whereas the sum of both the Samsung Galaxy fold and the Apple iPhone X costs roughly $4,000 approx 1.2 Million Naira.

The fact about these expensive smartphones I'm about to mention is that they all look ugly and if you were given as a gift without you having knowledge about the price, I bet you will reject them.


See phones Specs and details below

https://www.haychsblog.com/2019/06/four-most-ugly-but-expensive.html?m=1

Spanish news outlet Sport reports that Mata has agreed a three-year contract extension that would extend his stay at the club until 2022.

Manchester Unite boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer rates Mata as a player whose experience can help the team fight for major titles next season. The Spanish international is a fan favourite and this development means that he is likely to retire at the club.

Barcelona were linked to the player in January but it is believed that the Catalan outfit have shelved their interest for the player as they look to bring bigger signings.

Mata new contract has not seen an increase in his wages as the report claims that his salary would remain around €5m/year.

United fans would be happy to hear creative midfielder has put pen to paper for a new long-term deal.

Source:

https://newsnaija365..com/2019/06/juan-mata-agrees-3-year-deal-to-extend.html?m=1

The Plateau Specialist Hospital, Jos, has handed over the baby stolen from its maternity ward, to the biological parents, after medical and police investigation.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Chief Medical Director, Dr Philemon Golwa, while handing over the baby to the parents, expressed happiness over the recovery of the stolen child from its abductors.
Golwa said that genetic testing conducted on both baby and the parents confirmed that the baby biologically belongs to the parents the baby was stolen from. “Today is not a day of mourning; it is a day of celebration of life that was thought to have been lost but now found.
Hospital in Plateau state hands over stolen baby to biological parents


“When this special baby was stolen from this hospital, I was worried, but with our efforts and that of the Police, God has made it possible for us to celebrate.
“We had a breakthrough on Thursday with the recovery of the baby from the woman who “technically” snatched her. The woman has confessed to the Police that she actually stole the child.
“Paternity test, done through DNA, and the blood groups genotype testing, have all shown that the child belongs to the couple. They are the real parents of the child.

See more;

https://newsnaija365..com/2019/06/hospital-in-plateau-hands-over-stolen.html?m=1

Kogi High Court sitting in Koton-Karfe, on Tuesday ruled that the Executive and Legislature, jointly or unilaterally, cannot remove the state Chief Judge, Justice Nasir Ajanah without recourse to the National Judicial Council (NJC).

The court also declared that the Chief Registrar of the state High Court held a statutory position as the accounting officer of the Judiciary and was therefore, not subject to the control and supervision of either the Executive or the Legislature.

Justice Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye, the presiding judge, made the declaration in his judgement on the suit brought against the Assembly, the governor and three others by Justice Ajanah and the Chief Registrar, Alhaji Yahaya Adamu.

Omolaye-Ajileye who granted all the reliefs and declarations sought by the claimants in the suit said, “On the whole, I find merit in this action and it succeeds. All the declarations sought are allowed.

“By item 21 of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution (As Amended), the National Judicial Council (NJC) is the body empowered to exercise disciplinary control over all Judicial Officers of Nigeria.

See more;

https://newsnaija365..com/2019/06/court-states-position-on-removal-of.html?m=1

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Former American professional boxer has dropped a hint he could visit Ghana soon.
The 42-year-old who went unbeaten in all his 50 bouts revealed his intention to tour pay a visit to the Gold Coast country.
The undefeated world champion noted that he’s currently touring the world. He was in Thailand, moved to China, Hong Kong and Dubai will be his next stop.
According to the future Hall of Famer, he’s probably going to head down to Ghana after Dubai.

See more at

https://newsnaija365..com/2019/06/floyd-mayweather-to-visit-ghana.html?m=1