Abstract

The quest to balance information globally has ended up generating misinformation in the global community. The advancement in information and technology has resulted to the unprecedented spread of information across the country. Social media has been found the fastest source of information across the globe with a considerable risk of fake news, the study investigates the social media, fake news and misinformation. It adopted library research method and found that the predominant social media used in the spread of fake news in Nigeria and other countries are Facebook and WhatsApp. It also found that the degree to which social media spreads of fake news has widen disinformation in Nigeria is very high. Then recommends that; social media users should be mindful of what they exposed themselves to and share on social media since many of such information constitute fake news and misinforms the public and the government at every level should make laws controlling and prohibiting the spread of fake news in Nigeria. The study supports the use of technological determinism theory which posits that technology plays a critical role in the emergence of new social orders and new forms of culture in the society.

Key Words: Social Media, Fake News, Dis-Information, Widening

^JCMR Journal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 14, No. 1, Special Issue 2, June 2022, pp. 85-91

© Association of Media and Communication Researchers of Nigeria (AMCRON).

About the author

*Blessing Onyinyechukwu Umunnah is of the Department of English and Communication Studies, Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Article Citation

Umunnah, B. O. (2022). Social media and fake news: Widening the gap in global disinformation. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 14 (1, SP. 2): 85-91.

Full Article

Words: 5,110

Pages: 7

To access full article, click on download.