Fake news biggest threat to democracy over gun- Jonathan

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said that the current biggest challenge to democracy in Nigeria is no longer guns but fake news, disinformation, and propaganda. He stated this at the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation 2022 Peace Conference with the theme “Nation Building: The Role of Peaceful Elections in a Multi-Ethnic Context”, held in Abuja.

Dr. Jonathan urged Nigerians especially the younger ones, to embrace good conduct and desist from promoting hate speech, fake news, and violence, saying they are now the biggest threats to democracy in the country.

“We must discourage this issue of hate speech and propaganda that is going on because before this time, we were always afraid of the gun as a threat to democracy.

“But the biggest threat to democracy now that we know is the issue of propaganda, fake news, and hate speech.  Anybody that is an advocate of this is a threat to democracy just like the gun.

“So, our young people should know that we must embrace good conduct that would lead to good elections”, he said.

Was that all the former president said?

He also admonished political parties and their candidates to put the interest of the people first before theirs, as they gear up for the 2023 general elections, adding that those who are going into politics with the aim of making money should rather go into business.

Jonathan also told candidates that are “interested in leadership at the level of the president, governor, senator, etc, that they have the biggest stake in protecting the country” from erupting into crisis while urging religious leaders and civil societies to continue to sensitize the electorate until the country becomes better. The former president also noted the improvement in the country’s electoral processes, saying that the introduction of technology would continue to make it better and faster