Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at a conference organised by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Africa on fake news recalled how fake
news nearly caused a ‘rift’ in his marriage.
The one-day conference yesterday , which marks the beginning of ‘BBC’s 50-day election conference plan’, was held at the Transcorp Hotels
in Abuja.
At the conference, Mr Osinbajo gave the keynote speech on the effect of misinformation.
The conference tagged, ”Beyond Fake News” had as panellists Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors,
Funke Egbemode; founder of Bella Naija, Uche Pedro; the INEC chairman, Mahmoud Yakubu, represented by Festus Okoye and the director of BBC World Service Group, Jamie Angus.
The discussion was moderated by Adesuwa Onyenokwe, publisher, Today’s Woman Magazine.
The discussion dwelt on countering fake news in Nigeria.
Mr Osinbajo in his speech explained how fake news could cause marital crises.
He recalled a report in the past where he was accused of taking pictures with strippers.
”I took a picture with two perfectly clothed ladies but underneath the (published) story, the ‘ladies’ were not wearing much,” he said. ”I had in fact taken pictures with these two ladies at an entertainment event when they were ‘perfectly clothed” he said.
