Disinformation, threat to Nigeria’s democracy – EU

The European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, has warned that false and misleading content is “gravely endangering democracy” in Nigeria and undermining trust in institutions.

Speaking on Monday in Abuja at a one-day workshop on Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI), organised for members of the Diplomatic Correspondents Association of Nigeria (DICAN), Mignot Nigeria faces a rapidly escalating threat from disinformation.

He warned that journalists must remain credible if they are to serve as the country’s strongest defence against manipulation.

“False information, in whatever guise and for whatever motive, harms society,” he stated, adding that it “compromises the integrity of the media, undermines trust in public institutions, and weakens people’s capacity to take informed decisions on issues that affect them.

“The consequences become more dire when misleading information is deliberately crafted with an intent to deceive, and pushed into the public space to unsuspecting, helpless citizenry,” the EU Ambassador said.

Mignot said the media remains “one of the pillars of a free, democratic society,” warning that when citizens lose trust in journalism, “democracy is at risk, and the society itself is gravely endangered.”

He described journalists as “multipliers in the information value-chain” and therefore natural targets of foreign and domestic manipulation. “Once the media is misinformed or disinformed, the entire society is at risk of being deceived,” he said.

The Ambassador noted that modern technologies have made communication easier but also far more dangerous. Their ability, he said, “to falsify or even recreate realities has enhanced the ease and rapidity of producing and spreading deceptive content… which are more and more difficult to distinguish from original content.”

Citing a July 2024 report of the European Parliament, he said global concern over disinformation is widespread, adding that, “Some 85 percent of people worldwide are concerned about the impact of disinformation on their fellow citizens; 87 percent think disinformation has already affected political life in their country; and 38 percent of EU citizens list false and/or misleading information as a threat to democracy.”

While warning that Nigeria is facing similar dangers, he referenced a 2020 report by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), which concluded that Nigeria’s “unprecedented” level of disinformation has worsened ethnic and religious tensions.

He said that disinformation often begins online but quickly crosses into radio, television and print spaces, blurring the lines between verified news and manipulated content.

This drift, he said, has created “problems around transparency and accountability, key features underlining media credibility.”

Explaining why DICAN journalists were selected for the training, Mignot said they are “first-line purveyors of public information, with a considerable weight of responsibility,” and stand at a crucial intersection between Nigeria and the world.

“You report the activities of the EU and its Member States the most in the country; you are our closest partners in Nigeria’s media community,” he said.

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