Disinformation has spread ahead of Nigeria’s presidential election on Saturday as the country faces challenges ranging from threats from criminal gunmen to a stuttering economy and currency crisis.
Fears of electoral fraud have also led to false stories of candidates stealing cash during a shortage of naira currency notes.
With about 39 million Nigerian social media users, the claim spread like wildfire around Facebook, WhatsApp and TikTok ahead of the February 25 vote.
“Renewed sophistication and organization in the push of disinformation has been observed with efforts generally focused on glorifying or delegitimizing political candidates and undermining the credibility of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)”, the Center for Democracy and Development said in a report.
Candidates have campaigned for the support of more than 93 million voters who will vote for President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor.
The top contenders in the race are Bolu Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abukabar of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labor Party.
– Security threats –
Nigeria is facing many security challenges including kidnapping gangs in the north-west, inter-communal clashes and jihadists in the north-east.
Experts also warned of the campaign stoking ethnic and religious tensions in a country almost equally divided between the Muslim-majority north and the Christian-dominated south with dozens of ethnic groups.
One threat comes from separatists in the southeast.
The electoral commission said its office had come under more than 50 attacks across the country since 2019, with the majority occurring in the southeastern states.
The separatist movement of the Indigenous People of Biafra or IPOB denies its members responsibility.
But the violence has also fueled disinformation on social media.
AFP Fact Check refutes some of the claims shared by accounts promoting the separatist cause of IPOB.
While one of the posts featured photos allegedly showing the aftermath of the attack on Obi Labor’s convoy, another proved that secessionists in the southeast had shot down a government drone.
None of this is true — the photos are old and unrelated events.
– Currency crisis –
Separatism and political violence are not the only issues threatening Nigerian elections.
The national cash shortage, coupled with fuel shortages, led to protests in major cities, with people attacking bank buildings.
The crisis erupted after the central bank began replacing old bills of the local naira currency with new designs in December, creating a shortfall in paper money.
The bank said the new policy was aimed at cleaning up fake naira and combating political bribery. But many Nigerians are not convinced that they will overcome corruption.
The situation has sparked rumors online, including that the presidential candidate is raising money.
AFP Fact Check refuted a post that was shared more than 14,000 times stating that many trucks have been seized from Tinubu APC.
– Election Fraud –
Allegations of widespread vote fraud, miscalculation and corruption have marred the ballot in Nigeria.
As a result, confidence in INEC itself has diminished. Nearly 80 percent of Nigerians distrust the organization, according to a February report by the pan-African survey group Afrobarometer.
“Disinformation has fueled electoral violence in the past because people believe what they see on social media,” said Opeyemi Kehinde of the Nigerian Coalition of Factcheckers.
The alliance, made up of dozens of local organizations, was launched to verify disinformation related to the 2023 vote.
“It is important for people to trust the information coming from INEC or other official sources, especially the election results,” added Kehinde.
In an effort to make the 2023 ballot more fraud-resistant, Nigeria is introducing technological innovations, including the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS), which identifies voters through facial recognition and biometrics.
But controversy has dogged the new system.
In January, a court annulled the results of the Osun state governorship election after finding overcounting occurred despite the use of BVAS.
The incident sparked disinformation online.
AFP Fact Check refuted claims that the Osun governor was fired primarily because of a video showing him dancing after he won the election.
Fake INEC press releases have also been widely circulated.
– Political blame game –
The presidential frontrunners have traded accusations and blame for the lack of cash.
“We have seen an increase in election disinformation, with some candidates defaming the character of their opponents at rallies and on social media platforms,” said Kehinde of the FactCheckers Coalition.
Some in APC claim the crisis was engineered by Buhari’s inner circle to cost Tinubu the election or spark chaos.
The president denied the allegations.
The track record of Buhari’s eight-year administration also provides fodder for misleading claims.
In one recent instance, Obi of the Labor Party said that Nigeria’s exports under Buhari have been lagging behind smaller African countries. But official data shows Obi’s figures are inaccurate.
The main parties are facing voter fatigue, experts warn, with voter turnout down to 34 percent in the 2019 presidential election.
“Most candidates have failed to tell Nigerians about their plans to address other indices, including poor debt, power and infrastructure profiles that have brought the economy to its knees,” said public affairs analyst Chuka Joseph.