By Raphael Jov
In a bit to curb the menace of fake news, the Nigerian Army in partnership with Security Affairs Limited has extended its 5th Edition Social Media Seminar to Jos, Plateau State.
Speaking during the seminar in Jos Monday, the Chief of Civil Military Affairs, Nigerian Army, Major General Usman Muhammed said the gesture was to educate and inform the Jos Civil populace on the use of social Media in order to propagate and support the activities of the Nigerian Army by the right use of Social media.
General Muhammed noted that the department of Civil Military Relations was created to bridge the gap between the Civil populace and the Army Headquarters so as to have an interface with the Nigerian Army in order to understand and portray the Army in the right perspective than false perception had in the time past.
According to him, Social Media as a strong tool that has a very wide spread that travels very fast can be used for supporting the operations of the Nigerian Army, the handlers and the influencers needs to be well sensitized by organizing a seminar a such to educate them.
While calling on Nigerians to join the Nigerian Army in the fight against fake news, he noted that since the inception of the social media sensitization seminar, there has been drastic change of perception in terms of fake news.
On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of Security Affairs, Austin Peacemaker, said there has been change of narrative since the beginning of the program, as bloggers and online media have started calling to verify strange stories on Social Media.
Peacemaker however called on the social media influencers to consider national security while posting what ever they post online.
In her presentation, one of the resource persons, Mrs. Sheba Tayo-Garbson, lamented on the implications of social media that it generates unnecessary heat in the society and also instigates and bring about reprisal as well as creates tension and attacks on individuals.
While calling on the Federal Government to improve on the resources giving to the Nigerian Army to curb the mehelm and security threats in the country, she also called on the public to imbibe the culture of appreciating and being fair to the Nigerian Army, as according to her, the Nigerian Army are not being celebrated by Nigerians.
Mrs. Sheba further called on the online community to create balance by thinking before they post what ever post for the interest of the country.
She said online community is not a community of hoodlums, rascals, terrorists, she added that some of the online influencers are the terrorists in the country, for most of their posts are inciteful all in the name of building traffic on their platform.
