The Presidency has trained more than 100 social media influencers from across Northern Nigeria as part of efforts to combat the spread of fake news and improve public communication.
The workshop, organised by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Enlightenment, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, took place in Kano on Sunday.
Speaking at the event, Abdulaziz said the training was designed to equip participants with practical skills to identify and counter misinformation and disinformation circulating online.
According to him, the programme will also expose influencers to the policies and achievements of the Tinubu administration, enabling them to share verified information with the public.
“We see a lot of misleading videos, AI-generated images and manipulated clips on social media that are deliberately created to spread falsehoods and stir disaffection,” Abdulaziz said.
“This workshop is aimed at giving participants the skills they need to respond to such content and use social media more responsibly for information sharing.”
He added that the initiative also seeks to promote messages that strengthen national unity while encouraging more responsible use of digital platforms.
“Everyone has the right to express their opinions and participate in political or non-political activities. That is what democracy is about,” he said.
“But we are also seeing a lot of recklessness on social media. People need access to factual information about what the government is doing.”
One of the facilitators, development scholar Dr. Musa Abdullahi-Sufi, urged participants to help project a more balanced image of Nigeria by focusing on development stories and positive initiatives rather than amplifying only negative narratives.
He said the training covered key areas including ethical social media use, fact-checking and responsible digital engagement.
The Presidency hopes the programme will help improve the quality of online conversations and reduce the spread of false information across digital platforms.
