Fake or Fact? Disinformation & (New) Media in Nigeria

Tue, 22.10.2019
7:00 PM - 22:00 The Auditorium, Alliance Française Lagos/Mike Adenuga Centre

The increasing spread of 'Fake News' has started to have an unprecedented impact on the socio-political developments within Nigeria. Misinformation and false claims have fueled ethno-religious tensions, particularly in the central and north eastern states, and have played a significant role during this year's presidential election.
 
The Goethe-Institut has invited five experts in the field of journalism and fact-checking to discuss the following questions:

1.  Why and how are fake news spread?
2. What role do fake news play in current politics?
3. What can be done to combat fake news?

The Panelists:

© Lolade Nwanze

Lolade Nwanze is a trained journalist, speaker and editor, with thirteen years of experience across print, TV and digital media. She began her career as a crime reporter for a local newspaper and has since grown into management roles. Currently, she heads operations and is editorial manager for the digital department of The Guardian Nigeria (www.guardiannigeria.ng). As the only female heading a newsroom in Nigeria, Lolade is passionate about news well told and has been interviewed by CNN and Deutsche Welle. She can always be found at the intersection of media, tech, and development.

© 'Fisayo Soyombo

Investigative journalist ‘Fisayo Soyombo was pioneer Editor of TheCable. He is also a former Editor of the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), and the immediate past Managing Editor of Sahara Reporters.
Soyombo’s brand of investigative reporting has won him multiple awards. In 2016 alone, he was finalist, Kurt Schork Awards in International Journalism; winner, Maritime Economy category, African Media Initiative awards; winner, overall prize, Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting; winner, Hans Verploeg Newcomer of the Year category, Free Press Awards, Netherlands; and winner, Journalist of the Year (Business and Economy Reporting), PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Journalism Excellence Awards. He is a 2013 winner of the Deutsche Welle/Orange Magazine Reporting Fellowship, a 2014 finalist for the Kurt Schork Awards in International Journalism, and a 2017 winner of the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting (Online category).
An op-ed contributor to Al Jazeera, Soyombo has also written for TAZ, Journal Du Dimanche, the Daily Mail UK and Africa In Fact.

© Mayowa Tijani

Mayowa Tijani is a development journalist. He is a graduate of the University of Ibadan and just concluded his master’s degree in Media Practice for Development and Social Change at the University of Sussex, UK, via the Chevening Scholarship.
He has worked with the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ). In 2015, he was one of the few journalists from across Africa, trained by the United Nations Millennium Campaign as media ambassadors for the Sustainable Development Goals.
In 2017, he won the best team award at the Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa (BMIA) cohort three, was finalist for The Future Awards Africa prize for excellence in journalism and the Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the year. In December 2018, Mayowa ran the first ever live fact check of any electoral debate in Nigeria’s 58-year history. Currently, he is business and development Editor at TheCable and leads Agence France-Presse (AFP)-Facebook fact checking drive in Nigeria.

© Victor Mathias

Victor Mathias is a Channels Television presenter and producer with local, national and international experience. He is a graduate of Political Science of the University of Maiduguri.
Victor joined Channels Television as a Youth Corp member in 2011 and was posted to the Web Department as a Web Content Producer, however, broadcasting, reporting, presenting and producing duties were quickly added to his primary assignment.
Victor has covered stories in Nigeria and abroad, ranging from the Boko Haram insurgency, health, social issues, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
He is a news anchor and the pioneer presenter and producer of Channels Television’s flagship social media powered programme, Channels Beam.

© David Ajikobi

David Ajikobi (@Pantaphobious) is the Nigeria editor of Africa Check. He has more than a decade of experience across different media platforms and was one of the pioneer News Editors/Producers at 99.3 Nigeria Info, 96.9 Cool FM and 95.1 Wazobia FM in Lagos. Earlier in his career, he was Metro Editor at NEXT Newspaper (234next.com) published by African-born Pulitzer Prize winner, Dele Olojede. David has a Masters Degree in media and communications from the Pan Atlantic University, Lagos.




The Panel Discussion is open to the public and part of a series of events - organized by the Goethe-Institut and its partners - designed to lend a critical voice and a Nigerian perspective to the global campaign against the alarming increase of fake news worldwide.