Political campaigns for Nigeria’s 2023 elections officially kick off in September. Tens of millions will elect a new president, lawmakers and governors in February and March.
It will be the seventh general election since the country returned to democratic rule in 1999.
Given the role accurate information plays in the electoral choices voters make, a coalition of fact-checkers working in Nigeria has written an open letter to the country’s politicians.
Members of the Nigerian Fact-checkers’ Coalition come from eight media organisations, including Africa Check.
In the letter, the fact-checkers appealed to political figures to avoid making false claims, and to debunk false or misleading information related to their parties or candidacies.
“This is an appeal from us, fact-checkers working in Nigeria, to you, politicians, whether you contest the 2023 elections or not. It is the duty of all citizens to ensure that this election is credible by all standards. And you play a significant role in this; hence this open letter is addressed to you,” the letter reads.
“We – the Nigerian Fact-checkers’ Coalition – are committed to non-partisanship and fairness and are bound by the code of principles of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN).”
Read the full open letter here.
The coalition noted that there was evidence that misinformation and disinformation campaigns could affect the integrity of elections and lead to violence.
“It is a fact that disinformation and influence...
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