Influence of Fake News on Public Perception of Nigeria's Online Newspapers

The online newspaper is increasingly taking the place of the hardcopy newspaper As readers switch to popular online newspapers it behoves the internet-based medium to live up to and better play the very important function to the society carried out by the hardcopy newspapers But the increasing cases of fake news in the blogosphere seem likely to detract from the credibility which many place on popular online newspapers When readers apply the Uses and Gratifications as well as the Selectivity Factors theories this will go a long way in whittling down the influential role of the press in the society Using the survey research design this researcher set out to explore the influence which the circulation of fake news has on the perception members of the public have of Nigeria s online newspapers Drawing the sample size from Enugu metropolis it was found that while the prevalence of fake news in Nigeria is high popular online newspapers do not play much role in the dissemination of fake news It was also discovered that most Nigerians see reports on popular online news platforms as credible and that there is difference between information on online newspapers and those circulated through social medi

Analysis of Online Reactions to the Proscription of IPOB as Terrorist Organization

The classification of the Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB as a terrorist organisation has been condemned by those who felt government went overboard The voice of these individuals and groups are so strident that it seemingly drowned the support accorded the proscription by those who believe that IPOB deserved to be so labelled These divergent positions of newsmakers were examined since as opinion moulders they greatly influence the thinking of the populace towards any particular subject The analysis was done within the framework of the democratic participant theory which posits that input of the people in public policy and decisions should matter Using Google filters the researcher x-rayed a sample of the reactions of newsmakers published online as news to answer four research questions yielding among other things that government s designation of IPOB as terrorist organization was not popular especially as a much more violent group Fulani militia recognized abroad as terrorist organization was not so classified locally Therefore this paper called on the authorities to be even handed when dealing with criminal groups irrespective of the part of Nigeria they come from and advocates that government should give every segment of society a sense of belongin