PRESIDENT Buhari urged all nations, international organizations, and donor organizations today to support the global financing of Media and Information Literacy so as to combat fake news and misinformation.
The president opened the UNESCO Global Media and Information Literacy Week, today, with the theme “Nurturing Trust: A Media and Information Literacy Imperative,”
The President, who was represented by his chief of staff Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, acknowledged that the Abuja Declaration would be one of the conference’s primary achievements.
According to him, the Abuja Declaration will focus on global funding for media and information literacy as a necessity to combat misinformation and foster trust in societies.
Therefore, he stressed that all nations, organizations, and goodwill individuals should support the global funding of MIL as a genuine course.
“Trust is a key ingredient of democracy and good governance. Without trust, our avowed pledge to deliver on our promises as leaders will be impeded by the lack of commitment from the governed.
“As it is evident in our societies, getting reliable information is a constant battle because media practitioners and stakeholders within the sector face the clear and present danger of misinformation.
“Misinformation has been used to aggravate conflicts and crisis, exacerbate insecurity, distort government efforts, fuel apprehension among the citizens and create distrust between the governments and their peoples,” he said.
The President added that the widespread use of social media and its potential to mould, shape and form opinion has made the financing of media literacy imperative.
“We fully recognise and are cognisant that technology and social media offer us nearly limitless opportunities which must be harnessed especially by the youth to strengthen the foundations of our society and our common values.
“However, in confronting challenges of rising misinformation and hate speech we must also come together to defend freedom of speech, whilst upholding other values that we cherish.
“We must continue to work for a common standard that balances rights with responsibilities to keep the most vulnerable from harm and help strengthen and enrich our communities,” he said.
The President commended UNESCO and other significant stakeholders for their efforts in creating several projects and materials centered on the use of media and information literacy to help in fostering trust and fending off mistrust.
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