Catching up with everything happening in the world is one of the easiest things in this digital age thanks to technology, but it can be very complicated due to how fake news spreads on different social platforms like Wildfire. News agencies being private wouldn't mind twisting stories just to make profit and ensure that they don't get on the wrong side of the government. Bloggers aren't exempted from this terrible act, and just to get traffic on their page, these guys wouldn't hesitate to manipulate stories and trick their followers into believing what's not true.
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It's so bad that even differentiating fake from genuine news is more difficult than seperating sand from garri. Sometimes, I read stuff online and start wondering where these bloggers get such classified information because these are things that should be withheld from the public to aid smooth and proper investigation on serious cases.
The death of the Nigerian singer, Mohbad, is the perfect case study for this prompt, and sometimes I wonder if some content creators would ever have content to put out there aside from fake news and confusing the public. Since the death of the singer, there has been so much news circulating, including delicate information about the deceased autopsy and DNA result. All these rumors and fake stories have not just misled the public but also affected the investigation into tracking down the killer of Mohbad.
Growing up, news was mandatory at home because my mom loves to catch up with everything happening in the country, but it pisses me off a lot. Listening to news has always ruined my mood because there is always one tragedy to report, and it usually doesn't end well. As an adult, I don't intentionally watch the news except there is something I am trying to figure out at that particular time, and that's because I find it hard to believe a lot of things circulating out there.
I mentioned earlier that many news agencies twist stories to avoid issues from the government, so even those we rely on for genuine information can't be 100% trusted. Recently, a pastor called out a newspaper company for twisting his words and I was surprised because this is a paper that has been around for decades. The pastor started preaching against the lifestyle of some reputable pastors in Nigeria, and there has been a huge disagreement between him and many other pastors.
I really don't know why the newspaper had to get involved, but the story was published to favor the big pastors involved. It was more of tarnishing the image of the pastor who was challenging them, and I wondered why they had to go as far as quoting him wrongly. A lot of people who read the wrong quote won't end up getting the true picture of what happened, and that's how false information spreads.
The last time I was very eager to see the news was during endsars, but what happened? Even the trusted news agencies hid the truth from the world, while eye witnesses were the ones who exposed everything that happened that night at the Lekki Toll gate.
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There are so many things I am not aware of until I come across them online, probably while surfing the internet, and that's when I pick interest. Yet, I don't go to these big new agencies, for fact, because they must have refurbished the whole thing.
Since Endsars, Twitter has been my favorite place for news because that's where people confidently criticize information, ask questions, and somehow, the truth always emerges after so much dragging. Every news story and research there hasn't been very perfect, but the criticism there is something that gives you a proper insight about the whole situation.
I honestly don't engage in conversations, I just read through different content and comments, compare stories, and choose what to believe. I do tell people that these news aren't imposed on us, and it's our choice whether to believe or not, but whatever the case maybe, imposing what we believe on people shouldn't be an option.
I practically don't go about spreading my thoughts because that's where fake information starts circulating. I keep my thoughts until the truth comes up someday and then the whole controversy would be cleared.
