The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, says 476 online publication sites have been created to peddle fake news to discredit and fight the Federal Government.
He said this in Abuja yesterday while receiving members of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations.
Mohammed said the owners of the sites were feeding on the gullibility of readers to make their fake news go viral.
“The latest which I found ridiculous is the one that said days ago that they had information that when President Muhammadu Buhari was in the United Kingdom the last time, he was advised to step down because he could not even recognize members of his immediate family”
The minister said fake news was threatening Nigeria’s existence.
He said the NIPR had a critical role to play in the fight against fake news.
Earlier, Mukhtar Sirajo, National President and Chairman, Governing Council of NIPR said they were willing to work with the Federal Government to engender peace and unity.
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