Nigeria elections: Websites dey use false stories to attract views and ads

Several websites wey dem establish around di time of Nigeria general elections for February 2023 dey reach thousands of pipo as dem dey spread fake tori, BBC investigation show.

A high number of adverts on di websites mean say dem dey gain from di spread of disinformation.

Dem dey write fake tori about sports, entertainment, and politics, and some of dem dey publish as many as 700 pieces per month. Dem also favour or attack politicians for Nigeria.

Almost seven months afta Nigeria elections, di kontri remain deeply divided, as witnessed for di reaction to last week ruling on di opposition challenge to di results.

Di disinformation spread by dis websites fit dey increase dis divisions.

Lawyer Mojirayo Ogunlana remember say before di elections, she see tori wey dem share on Twitter, now known as X, from websites wey she neva hear about before. Many of dis tori also dey enta her WhatsApp groups. She tok say di amount of fake news dey overwhelming. "E no get a day wey fake news no dey spread on social media. E dey make me lose trust," Ms Ogunlana tok.

Disinformation researcher Mayowa Tijani follow di website growth. E tok say dem cause "clear impact" on elections sake of say dia narratives become national conversations. And dem kontinu to push fake tori, e tok.

"Now, wen one of dem come up wit fake tori, e get high chance say di oda websites go pick am up and e become veryinfluential on social media. Dem help to push am further and e go offline and spread even more and e become narrative wey dey dominate," e tok.

Di BBC Global Disinformation Team analyse three of dis new websites: Podium Reporters wey dem register for 2021, Reportera wey dem register for July 2022, and Parallel Facts wey dem register for May 2023.

Di timing of dia creation get reason, according to Oga Tijani.

Number one be say e appear say di websites dey try to help elect certain candidates. But e believe say dia publisher also wish to "get good ad revenue on dia sites".

We tok to media consultants to find out how much dis websites fit dey make.

IT and Digital Marketing consultant Yusufuddeen A Yusuf say dem fit make anywhere between $100-$10,000 (£80-£8,000) a month."High-engagement tori dey lead to heavy traffic, wey mean high ad revenue," e tok. But Adebayo Ilupeju wey be digital media and PR Consultant for Africa Media Works, tok say sake of say dis websites dey fairly new, dem fit neva dey make profit. "Na investment," e tok.

We bin reach out to Podium Reporters, Reportera, and Parallel Facts. Dem no respond to our e-mails wit questions about di fake tori on dia websites and dia potential ad revenue.

During di electoral campaign and after, di websites wey we analyse subject all di three main candidates to news wey no dey accurate.

Bola Tinubu of di ruling APC win di election wit 37% of di votes. Atiku Abubakar of di PDP wey come second and Peter Obi of di Labour Party wey come third still dey challenge Tinubu victory. Last week di election tribunal reject dia challenges but dem tok say dem go go Supreme Court.

Politicians also share tori from di websites and e help dia popularity. Festus Keyamo, current Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, for example, share several Podium Reporters tori during di elections.

Oga Obi participate for two Twitter Spaces wit Parallel Facts, and dis na one of di tins wey make di website engagement grow from less dan 10,000 mentions to 40,000 mentions between May and July 2023.

Na Kingsley Izuchukwu Okafor get di website. E describe imself on im social media accounts as pesin wey dey interested in tech, PR and against "bad governance". E don previously share one foto of Peter Obi, and im tok say "Obi na di man". The website has this slogan: "No Clickbait, No Propaganda, and No Fake News". But our findings show otherwise. Just within one month, between 19 June and 15 July, di BBC bin count several news tori wey contain falsehoods on Parallel Facts website. On tori wey dem publish on 27 June claim say Yakubu Mahmood, chairman of Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec), dey "try to criminally give APC 25%" of di votes for Abuja.

But evidence no dey say Inec or oga Mahmood alter di results of di elections for di capital as claimed. Although many false tori like dis don dey denied by fact-checking agencies, dem still remain on air or uncorrected.

Reportera na anoda website wey lean politically towards di Labour Party. For one tweet wey dem pin, dem declare say dem no recognise Oga Tinubu goment.

Within one month, di website publish four fake tori, including one wey claim say President Tinubu actually come third for di election.

Dem also misrepresent one BBC investigation on di vote. For one tori wey dem publish on 28 June, Reportera claim say di BBC "conclude say clear case of voter suppression dey" and Oga Tinubu no suppose dey declared as di winner.

But such conclusion no dey tdi BBC investigation. Dis show say for some areas for Rivers State, dem reduce Labour Party and dem inflate APC votes.

Using publicly available results obtained from Inec's results-viewing portal, di BBC dey able to show say di Labour Party suppose score di highest number of votes for di state, instead of Oga Tinubu. But we no get evidence say dis na di case for oda places for di kontri and so we no fit tok say e no suppose win di election.

Di tori tok say Reportera do one "review", and dem no show how dem come to di conclusion of Oga Obi's alleged win. Instead, dem point to dia Twitter poll wia 93% of ova 31,000 respondents tok say Oga Obi win di election.More recently, di owner of di website, Nnamdi Ibezim, admit for one statement say im publish one tori "based on one rumour". On social media, Oga Ibezim describe imself as an entrepreneur and a polymath.Im website tori wey im publish on 6 August tok say former Minister of Works and Housing for Nigeria Babatunde Fashola dey help judges of di Presidential Election Petition Tribunal write verdicts in favour of di APC.Oga Fashola subsequently announce say im don write petition to di Inspector General of Police wia im accuse Repotera of "False Allegation and Cyberstalking". Oga Ibezim report say im brother Chike Ibezim chop arrest by from di Department of State Services (DSS) sake of di publication and release one statement wia e claim say di arrest no dey constitutional.

Di Nigerian Police confirm say dem arrest Chike Ibezim.

Meanwhile, di website Podium Reporters publish favourable tori about di ruling APC. On 4 July, 2023, dem publish one opinion article about di Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob), one separatist group wey di Nigerian goment bin declare as terrorist organisation. Di opinion article contain some false allegations. E also claim, for example say Ipob "formally adopt" di candidacy of Oga Obi. Associating Oga Obi wit Ipob na common narrative for Podium Reporters tori - we bin count seven wey dem publish within a month. Both Oga Obi and im party don deny links to Ipob, and di group neva endorse am openly.We no fit reach di pesin wey get di Podium Reporters.