By Millicent Ifeanyichukwu
The Chairman of the Editorial Board of the Nation newspaper, Mr Sam Omatseye, has charged media professionals to rise against the menace of fake news in the social media space.
Omatseye gave the charge at the maiden edition of the Trinity University Public Discourse Series.
The event held at the university at Yaba, Lagos, on Thursday with the theme: “Information in an Age of Flux”.
Omatseye said that it was regrettable that some mainstream media platforms indulged in fake news sharing for personal gains.
He said that media professionals had a duty to verify information on social media before sharing it.
“The elite in the mainstream media also share part of the blame for barrage of fake news.
“Now that we have an ombudsman with the responsibility of putting fake news in check, the rate of fake news in the social media space is expected to be reducing gradually,” he said.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Clement Kolawole, said that the university had made impactful contributions to education in Nigeria and globally.
He said that the institution had graduated three sets of students and was advancing in research and scholarship.
Kolawole said that the university was a purpose-driven institution dedicated to academic excellence, innovation and transformation. (NAN)