How to examine what you read for factual information (2)

The era of disinformation is here. Disinformation refers to campaigns to saturate the info space with deceptive information with the intention of swaying public opinion or to achieve certain objectives. This implies that most of what you read on the internet and newspapers have been written to largely reflect interests which could be local, religious, tribal, regional, international or even psychological. The success of such disinformation campaign is evident in the large numbers of people (even on Nairaland) who believe everything served especially if it conforms to their emotional, religious, tribal or psychological prerogatives.

So how can we distinguish between reality and fiction, facts and deceptions? This often depends on the level of knowledge and understanding of the content and language by the reader. The rules to apply are flexible and adaptable to all info space sources. Certain differences may be discerned when we look at political post but the technique is generally the same. In this and other posts (if I have the time) we shall look at how to interpret what we read for credible information and facts.

Disclaimer: Any news article or post examined is for educational purposes only. I accept no liability from any action, loss or gain that may arise from using the skills or methods described in this post.

Example 3

News: Accused of clampdown, Buhari says he’s proud of Nigerian media

Journalistic summary of the news- Hint: President's Twitter handle mentioned as source for verification

President Muhammadu Buhari has saluted the Nigerian media, saying journalists have performed their duties diligently.
The president, who made his position known on his Twitter handle, @MBuhari, on Sunday, said he was always in touch with news from home when he travels outside the country.

Fact- Hint: It was reported that he wrote the National Assembly on transfer of executive powers to the VP while away

Mr. Buhari left last week for the United Kingdom for a vacation.

Interesting- Portrays the President as a person who has an ear to the news despite being on holiday. But given the current hardship in the country one may question this. The picture however shows a man with no health issues with a tea or coffee pot by his side. The sitting position is a psychological comfort/dominant pose over his environment which is generally an unconscious unisex rest action. The mention of Channels TV may be just to prove a point(Hint- Fayose) or due to the limited availability of Nigerian cable TV stations abroad.

President Buhari, whose picture was also posted in the tweet, specifically named Channels TV as one of his favorite television stations.
He said: “Wherever I am, I keep up with news from home. Channels TV is one of my favorites. I’m proud of what the Nigerian media are achieving.’’ The post came amid conflicting reports about the president’s health.

Fact- Hint; Flight plans are submitted 24 hrs before a flight. Anybody could have checked the Presidents flight destination after it had landed if you are web savvy. However, Premium Times did not indicate if they did this. This implies they are aware of this information or believe the spokesperson.

The presidency, on Saturday, denied reports suggesting Mr. Buhari had taken seriously ill or even passed away.
A spokesperson, Garba Shehu, described the reports as “evil rumors”.
He also described as false and untrue the report that the president was flown to Germany.
Mr. Shehu said, “He is alive and well! President Buhari is not magical. He cannot be holidaying in the UK and be in Germany, dead or alive at the same time.”

A subtle accusation of press gagging against the President- Hint: The case reported was between Tukur Buratai and Premium Times. But here we are asked to consider the involvement of the President. OK, present factual evidence so i can form my judgement.

The president’s tweet is seen as aimed at dispelling rumors about his health, while also reassuring the public of his government’s relationship with the media.
The Buhari administration came under fire last week after police briefly detained two PREMIUM TIMES journalists.
Police said the journalists were arrested based on complaints filed by the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai.
The arrests, following previous ones involving journalists from other organizations, sparked furious allegations of attempts by the government to gag the press.

Fact- Hint: Its in the President's letter to the house

President Buhari left Abuja for the UK on Thursday. He is expected to resume work on Feb. 6, 2017.

Verdict: The news reliably informs that the president is not troubled by any life threatening or debilitating disease. It correctly identifies the tweet as an attempt to placate the recent clampdown on the press by the police. It however, subtly tries to create the impression without further proof, that the Presidency may be involved in the clampdown despite its own report about the issues.