The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has called on Nigerians to disregard any news credited to any social media account in his name, stating that he has no Twitter or Facebook account.
The Minister made this disclosure in a statement, on Sunday, while debunking reports that President Muhammadu Buhari will travel to the United States on Monday, to condole with President Donald Trump over the floods in Houston, describing them as fake news.
He said numerous parody accounts have been opened in his name on both Twitter and Facebook and Nigerians should disregard them as he has nothing to do with the social media accounts.
”Numerous parody accounts have been opened in my name on the two platforms, when indeed I have no Twitter or Facebook accounts,” he said.
The Minister recalled how one of the parody Twitter accounts @MohammedLai was used to circulate a fake report that he sharply criticised Senator Dino Melaye for attending the Notting Hill Carnival in the United Kingdom.
He said these two instances highlight the dangers posed to the polity by the purveyors of fake news and disinformation, and vowed that the Federal Government would soon fish out those behind these fake accounts.
He therefore urged Nigerians to be more discerning in receiving and spreading information from Social Media.
“That is why we are urging Nigerians to be more discerning and to double check any information emanating from the Social Media,” Mohammed said.
A check on Twitter and Facebook, however revealed several accounts opened in the name of the Minister, see images below:
ChannelTV
