Ahead of the 2023 general elections, a group, Safeguarding Online Civic Space, has called on the media for the protection of online space.
According to the group, this can be achieved by combating misinformation, disinformation.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday in Abuja, the youth-led group Chaired by Funmi Akinyele, disclosed that some individuals, either by omission or commission, have distorted information, leading to misinformation, disinformation, and malformation.
She added that the misuse and repression of both offline and digital civic spaces have contributed to the perceptions, mostly negative, of members of the international community about Nigeria.
Akinyele noted that the group is engaging critical stakeholders across government agencies, telecommunications, civil society, and the general public, in protecting the online civic space to maximise the benefits and minimise the threats for proper enlightenment and education of the populace on their civic rights regarding the general elections, irrespective of cultural, religious and political affiliations.
It called on the media to support their efforts “to combat voter misinformation and disinformation, improve inclusive voter and civic education and generate evidence regarding the openness and integrity of the digital civic space while tracking the political, economic environment by giving the project the required publicity so that it gets to every part of the country.”
It further noted that the digital civic space must be safeguarded to enhance the integrity of the electoral process, especially with the introduction of digital tools.
“We enjoin all and sundry to cooperate with us as we traverse the six geo-political zones of the country in our quest to safeguard the digital civic space by combating misinformation, disinformation and online harassment,” Akinyele said.
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