The Federal Government sealed agreements with tech giants Meta and Google on Friday in Abuja to protect the integrity of the forthcoming general elections. The accords were reached during a meeting between Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed and representatives of the two companies. Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, and Google, which operates YouTube, Gmail and Google Search, agreed to comply with four specific demands from the government.
First, the companies will work with authorities to flag and remove posts that constitute fake news or disinformation on their platforms. Second, they will cooperate with security agencies to take down content capable of inciting violence before, during, and after the elections. Third, any election results not originating from official sources will be marked as unverified. Finally, posts from official channels—such as the Ministry of Information and Culture, the Independent National Electoral Commission, and the National Orientation Agency—will be given prominence on their services.
In his remarks, the minister emphasized the importance of the elections and reiterated President Major General Muhammadu Buhari’s (retd) assurance of free, fair, credible and peaceful polls. He noted that social media plays a critical role in national elections, especially in a country with a predominantly youthful population. However, he expressed concern that, with only 22 days left before voting, there has been a noticeable surge in fake news and disinformation on social platforms. According to Mohammed, these false narratives are being spread by individuals seeking to undermine the election’s success and plunge the nation into crisis.
“The gross abuse of social media to purvey fake news and disinformation ahead of the elections is alarming,” the minister said. “Unscrupulous actors are using parody accounts, cloning reputable media outlets, and deploying deep fakes. Candidates’ speeches are doctored, rally footage is tampered with, and fake opinion polls are fabricated. Threats of violence are exaggerated, all to tarnish candidates, sway public perception, or suppress votes in certain areas. We have therefore invited you, platform owners, to work together to curb these negative tendencies before, during, and after the elections.”
Adaora Ikenze, Head of Public Policy (Anglophone West Africa) at Meta, thanked the minister for initiating the dialogue and pledged that the company would honor the government’s requests. She explained that Meta has established an Election Protection Operating Centre that operates 24 hours a day with relevant stakeholders to safeguard the polls. Meta is partnering with the Independent National Electoral Commission, civil‑society groups, and fact‑checkers to provide accurate information and flag harmful content.
Similarly, Dawn Dimowo, Policy and Government Affairs Lead at Google, assured that Google would cooperate with the government team to flag problematic content. She said Google has a process to direct users to authentic election‑result channels and will remove any unverified sources posting election outcomes. (NAN)
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