Timothy Omobude 
As the 2023 general election draws closer, members of Correspondents chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Edo State have been trained on the use of information technology to check and counter fake news.
The chairman of Edo NUJ Mr Festus Alenkhe declaring the three days capacity building open said the training was timely and apt as it would arm members on how to demystify fake information always dominating election period in the country.
While commending the leadership of the chapel for deeming it wise to organize the workshop called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to also train journalists ahead of the general poll, particularly as it concerns results verification.
Earlier, in her remark, Mrs Nefishetu Yakubu, Chairman of the Correspondents chapel, said the leadership intent was to build the capacity of members to be able to deploy it to counter misinformation that is prevalent on the social media.
“There is no doubt that opportunities are now abound in technological innovations, hence these can be used to verify and counter fake news, during electoral process.
“Studies have shown that in recent time, technologies have helped to unravel the truth behind some controversial issues in the Nigeria’s political space.
“Just few weeks ago, news about the purported two months extension of the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) made rounds the major newspapers, including platforms that have built their reputation and credibility over the years.
“The report was, however, later found to be untrue. Unfortunately, no matter how close it is and how credible the platform that reported it is, as far as it’s untrue, its tagged fake news.
According to her, every member will be expected to begin to take additional steps to verify the veracity of information at his disposal, using various fact-checking tools.
On his part, the facilitator, Mr Dare Akogun tutored the participants on open sourcing and various ways viral information can be verified to either be accepted or rejected.
