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REFILE-Nigeria considers social media regulation in wake of deadly shooting

Published 28/10/2020, 10:00
© Reuters.
META
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(Edits headline)
ABUJA/LAGOS, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Nigeria's information
minister said "some form of regulation" could be imposed on
social media just a week after protesters spread images and
videos of a deadly shooting using Twitter, Instagram and
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB).
Images, video and an Instagram live feed from a popular DJ
spread news of shootings in Lagos on Oct. 20, when witnesses and
rights groups said the military fired on peaceful protesters.
The protesters had been demonstrating for nearly two weeks
to demand an end to police brutality. The army denied its
soldiers were there. Social media helped spread word of the shootings worldwide,
and international celebrities from Beyonce and Lewis Hamilton to
Pope Francis since called on the country to resolve the conflict
peacefully. Information Minister Lai Mohammed told a panel at the
National Assembly on Tuesday that "fake news" is one of the
biggest challenges facing Nigeria.
A spokesman for the minister confirmed the comments, and
said "the use of the social media to spread fake news and
disinformation means there is the need to do something about
it."
Officials have said some videos and photos posted during the
protests were fake news but have not said that about the
shootings.
In the weeks before the shootings, protesters had also used
social media to organise, raise money and share what they said
was proof of police harassment, which increased pressure on
authorities to respond to their demands.
Twitter Inc TWTR.N CEO Jack Dorsey Tweeted to encouraged
his followers to contribute, and the hashtag #EndSARS was
trending for several days, referencing the widely feared Special
Anti-Robbery Squad that they successfully demanded be abolished.

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