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Twitter’s One Of The Social Media Through Which Fake News Spread In Nigeria – Presidency

People holding mobile phones are silhouetted against a backdrop projected with the Twitter logo in this illustration picture taken in Warsaw September 27, 2013. Twitter Inc, the eight-year-old online messaging service, gave potential investors their first glance at its financials on Thursday when it publicly filed its IPO documents, setting the stage for one of the most-anticipated debuts in over a year. Picture taken September 27. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel (POLAND – Tags: BUSINESS TELECOMS LOGO) – RTR3FL8C
The Nigerian Presidency has accused Twitter for opening its platform to all manner of fake news and misinformation to spread and cause security havoc to the country.
It said that the temporary suspension of the medium is not just a response to the removal of the President’s post but the fact that it joined other  social media platforms through which misinformation and fake news spread.
“All the while, the company has escaped accountability.
“Nevertheless, the removal of President Buhari’s tweet was disappointing. The censoring seemed based on a misunderstanding of the challenges Nigeria faces today.”
A statement by the senior special assistant to the President on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu recalled the address of the President at the United Nations General Assembly, UNGA in 2019 where he said: “the world was shocked and startled by the massacre in New Zealand by a lone gunman taking the lives of 50 worshippers.”
The statement said that thiis and similar crimes which have been fueled by social media networks risk seeping into the fabric of an emerging digital culture.
The President cautioned that major tech companies should be alive to their responsibilities, saying that they cannot be allowed to continue to facilitate the spread of religious, racist, xenophobic and false messages capable of inciting whole communities against each other, leading to loss of many lives.
“This could tear some countries apart.
‘President Buhari has therefore been warning against social media’s disruptive and divisive influences and the government’s action is not a knee-jerk reaction to Twitter’s preposterous deletion of his tweet which should have been read in full.
“The tweet was not a threat, but a statement of fact.
“A terrorist organisation (IPOB) poses a significant threat to the safety and security of Nigerian citizens.
“When the President said that they will be treated “in a language they understand,” he merely reiterated that their force shall be met with force. It is a basic principle of security services response world over.
“This is not promotion of hate, but a pledge to uphold citizens’ right to freedom from harm. The government cannot be expected to capitulate to terrorists.
“IPOB is proscribed under Nigerian law. Its members murder innocent Nigerians. They kill policemen and set government property on fire. Now, they have amassed a substantial stockpile of weapons and bombs across the country.
“Twitter does not seem to appreciate the national trauma of our country’s civil war. This government shall not allow a recurrence of that tragedy.”

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