There is no statement as true as the fact that social media has revolutionised life in Nigeria and the entire world. From politics to business, personal relationships to security, religion and the sharing of information, social media has provided a platform with which all may excel. As a tool for seeking political change, critics, activists and other political agents continually engage each other in a battle to champion the course of their principles, beliefs and actions.
The youths have also found an avenue for creating friendships, building relationships and expressing themselves. Lives have been saved, stolen properties recovered and useful information shared all thanks to the advent of social media. Politicians also are wary of it because it has become a strong force in shaping public opinion, little wonder most public officers are now more conscious of the message their actions and in actions convey in the virual world of social media.
Social media however has a down side which is misinformation. Many atimes, i have received false messages from well meaning friends, who out of the abundant care in their hearts, have shared some of such false information without taking the time to verify the source or truth of these statements, i have since deceased from sharing information whenever i am not sure of its authenticity.
No doubt, our precious platform for expression must be protected, i observed that it pours its wrath on who ever tries to curb it's freedom, you can ask David Mark, he was trending for about 6 days and not for the right reasons, when he made a comment which was construed to be an indication of the ruling class' intention to censor social media. We,on the other hand, however have a responsibility to keep social media pure, reliable and relevant in the scheme of things.
We can achieve this simply by being cautious of the messages we share. This is not a call for you to stop abusing politicians who have erred, the fundamental right of freedom of speech has already taken care of that. This however, is a call for awareness. We must be aware of the effects our massages may have if they are false.
From today, i humbly charge you to always confirm any information before you share, lest we give those seeking to scuttle our freedom ammunition with which to shoot us down.
Cheers.
@adedunmade
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