Atikulated Youth Force, an online campaign mobilising support for the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has raised alarm over the activities of Paul Carsten, a Reuters Correspondent in Nigeria.
In a statement released by its spokesperson, Stanley Ebosie on Thursday, 10th January 2019, the group condemned the activities of Reuters Nigeria Correspondent Paul Carsten, who shared a fake video disparaging the Presidential Candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar, and linking him with the Boko Haram terrorist group.
“It is unfortunate that at a time that Nigeria is suffering grave losses to the Boko Haram insurgency, a representative of a reputable global news agency would be irresponsible enough to deliberately seek to spread what was clearly a fake news campaign launched against the opposition candidate.
“It is not just disgraceful, it is also extremely dangerous and worrisome that a journalist who represents the Reuters brand validated a fake news report by sharing the link on his verified Twitter account, thereby giving it more exposure and traction. It is not surprising that the Deputy Spokesman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Yekini Nabena posted the same video quoting Paul Carsten’s tweet and using his exact words as a pretext to further authenticate and share the malicious fake news.
“The build up to Nigeria’s general elections is already tense. It is disheartening that instead of joining the campaign against fake news, the representative of a news agency like Reuters is caught in the very act.
“We call on Reuters to do the responsible thing and take every necessary action on Paul Carsten immediately”, the statement said.
_________
Follow us on Twitter at @thesignalng
Copyright 2019 SIGNAL. Permission to use portions of this article is granted provided appropriate credits are given to www.signalng.com and other relevant sources.
