Fake news in Nigeria is driven by financial inducements, NPC warns, urging media literacy, fact-checking, and ethical journalism to rebuild trust

Fake news in Nigeria continues to spread because of financial inducements, the Nigerian Press Council (NPC) has warned, stressing that misinformation is being fuelled by profit-driven motives.

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Speaking in Lagos on Thursday at the annual regional workshop on “Public Trust and Ethical Journalism in the Digital Age,” NPC Executive Secretary Dr. Dili Ezughah said many individuals and organisations fabricate or sensationalise stories simply to attract clicks, traffic, and money.

“Fake news thrives because of money, just the same way people resort to criminality for money. That is why we need sustained education. Nigerians must understand that not everything they see, read, or hear is factual. It must be double-checked,” he said.

Ezughah also noted that while fake news can be politically, religiously, or ethnically motivated, financial inducements remain the biggest driver.

He urged journalists to uphold professionalism and ethical standards to restore public trust, despite the rising number of impostors and quacks posing as journalists in the digital space.

Prof. Olunifesi Suraj of the University of Lagos called for newsrooms to establish fact-checking desks, arguing that credibility depends on verifying political claims and holding leaders accountable.

He criticised the overuse of the phrase “citizen journalism,” warning that it blurs the lines between trained professionals and bloggers.

Consulting Editor of Business Hallmark, Mr. Richard Mammah, added that journalists must embrace technology responsibly while remaining people-focused and ethical in the digital age.

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Participants at the workshop agreed that financial desperation and unchecked commercialisation of the press are undermining ethical standards, weakening credibility, and eroding public trust in Nigerian journalism.