Theorizing the Journalism Model of Disinformation and Hate Speech Propagation in a Nigerian Democratic Context

Abstract

Since its political independence in 1960, Nigeria has been a partially united country. Nigerians have always regarded themselves as ‘us' versus ‘them.' This creates a fertile ground for the propagation of hate speech and disinformation. The Fourth Republic in Nigerian democracy, which triumphantly began in 1999, after 16 years of military rule is now in its 21st year. However, since the emergence of the Trumpian fake news era in 2016, the Nigerian democratic atmosphere has been polluted with more devastating hate messages and disinformation which, aided by the ‘supersonic' social media, threaten the nations hard-earned democracy. As the constitutional watchdogs of the society, journalists are tasked to cleanse the democratic atmosphere of the filths of disinformation and hostility. To help the journalists achieve this goal, this article proposes the Journalism Model of Disinformation and Hate Speech Propagation through a critical review of extant literature. Policy recommendations were offered at the end.