INTRODUCTION
We live in a digital world, surrounded by a deluge of information. The internet has made us more connected than ever in one sense, and yet we seem disconnected from each other in a fundamental sense. In this new information age, we are always surrounded by information, a large part of which is reliable with the more significant chunk unverifiable. Thus, discerning truth from untruth has become a herculean task. Citizens, development practitioners and other stakeholders around the world have raised concerns about the prevalence of fake news in Nigeria mainly because of its characters and manifestations. The fact that fake news can be quickly spread and difficult to correct, popularity it has gained in global politics, its capacity to distort the truth, render it useless and replace it with damaging information, and the threat it poses on democracy re-emphasize the need for corrective measures. Nigeria, since her independence, has been defined by its differences, and now seems to have reached a tipping point. Fake news has increasingly become a problem in Nigeria. Their source and platforms vary, many of course are created by politicians, ignorantly or deliberately by the media, interest groups, etc. For example, in December 2017, there were reports that Kia Automobile was pulling its business out of Nigeria because of the poor economic conditions on ground, of course, this turned out to be fake news. More so, when President MuhammaduBuhari left the country for medical treatment in London in January 2017, news stories started circulating that he had died. Moreover, when he returned some even alleged that it was a fake Buhari, an example is the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader who claimed: "The man you are looking at on the television is not Buhari, he is from Sudan. After extensive plastic surgery, they brought him back the person was taught Buhari's mannerisms, and he came back deceiving all of you. I can stand and prove who I am but Buhari cannot do the same thing. He cannot deceive NnamdiKanu and IPOB". Of course, this was fake news too. A most recent example of how social media can be utilized to skewer elections in Nigeria is the just concluded Anambra governorship elections of November 2017. Where the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB), almost thwarted the Anambra 2017 governorship elections when it peddled highly emotive and divisive content with the aim of a creative fake narrative designed to mislead the populace. Identity factors such as political, ethnic and religious affiliations further reinforce fake news and in most cases have almost led to chaos. The pluralistic nature of "the media" has further complicated this issue of fake news or disinformation. There are so many sources and with so little trust; people are retreating into social media echo chambers made up of like-minded people, who are often the subjects of targeted campaigns. The 2015 report by DigiXplus shows that internet users in Nigeria increased from 35.7 million in 2011 increased by 22 million to 57.7million in 2014. In 2015, about an additional 5 million users are recorded making internet users almost 62.7 million in the country. As the internet penetrates the nation, more Nigerians have access to social networking sites like Facebook,Instagram, Twitter and a host of other platforms. According to a report on Social Media Landscape in Nigeria released by Africa Practice, 72% of Nigerians with access to the internet were visiting social media sites/platforms. Undoubtedly, access to social media has increased demand for accountability but also make users vulnerable to the danger of fake news. Studies show that when false information is introduced to these echo chambers, it is viewed as credible so long as it conforms to the existing narrative. Moreover, when more truthful information is presented, if it is not ignored, its only impact is to reinforce the false beliefs. Confirmation bias is not a new phenomenon; however, in a post-truth, internet-driven world, the increasingly urgent question now becomes: how do we overcome these biases? Research on how we decide what is right is even more damning because it reveals that there is often no conscious process involved. Instead, we are more likely to believe something if it is repeated enough times. Moreover, if we take into account the amplified ecosystems of places like Twitter and Facebook, fact checking starts to seem less like the panacea we believe it to be. Another phenomenon on the rise in the Nigeria landscape is the influence of Western and locally based, Reputation Management Agencies. These are companies that are hired to help political leaders run divisive campaigns to boost their prospects. For instance, the Nigerian social media space is ruled by overlords and influencers, who mostly push the interests of one political party or the other on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter among others. In empowering anyone to broadcast anything, social media have further eroded the traditional gatekeeping (and norm-preserving) roles of established media and political party organizations. In the process, they have coarsened the political dialogue, facilitated the natural proliferation of "fake news", and made it vastly easier for extreme and marginal figures to mobilize followers.
Motsaathebe (2011) posits that "the information dissemination is generally regarded as a credible provider of a realistic view of what happens around the world. In disseminating news, people rely on various sources to verify or lend credibility to the Information they put across". Kolawole (2017) writes, “Fake news — that art of concocting stories from your bedroom because you have a smart phone with cheap data — is becoming the biggest thing in town. No, it is not new. It was not invented in this generation of social media. We have been living with fake news most of our lives. The SAP riots of 1989, for instance, were sparked off by fake news.” The assertions above point the how fake news affects not just the media and society but students as well. With the advent of the new media, the scourge of fake news is becoming more prevalent that its negative impact on students is very evident. As Allcot&Gentzkow(2017) said, "The declining trust in mainstream media could be both a cause and a consequence of fake news gaining more traction". If fake news can affect students, then its impact on major information carried out can only be imagined. The literacy level in the country has not entirely made the difference between social media and printed media a common knowledge to all. It is still believed in some quarters that there is no difference between a major online news site and Face book. To this extent, it is feared that whatever negative impression people have of one is extended to the other.
The major aim of the study is to examine the effects of fake news on selected individuals and institutions in Nigeria. Other general objectives of the study are;
H01: Social media platforms have no role in the dissemination/propagation of fake news in Nigeria.
H02: There is no effect of fake news on individuals and institutions in Nigeria.
H03: There is no relationship between fake news and bad perceptions on targeted individuals and institutions in Nigeria.
From this research, online media practitioners would better understand the extent of damage which fake news/disinformationdoes to individuals and institutions concerned. They would get to know why they should rely on credible sources of information rather than embellishing what a user posted on the social media as story for their readers. This study would help readers know or be able to discern fake news when propagated. Students, researchers and scholars stand to benefit from this work as it is an effort to examine the effects of fake news on individuals and institutions in Nigeria. In sum, this research would recommend ways of curbing or minimizing the propagation of fake news in Nigeria.
This study is on the examination of the effects of fake news on selected individuals and institutions in Nigeria using selected cases on individuals and institutions as a case study.
LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.
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