Election 2020: Spread of fake news worrying - NCCE

The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has condemned the proliferation of fake news days to the December 7, 2020 elections.

The Commission said it was worried about the malicious false information deliberately spread to confuse the electorate to vote in a certain direction in the upcoming elections.

“Fake news is a false narrative that is published, aired, and promoted as if it were true or factual. It is nothing short of fabrication to make a claim or proclaim support for a certain position, even if it was completely false.

“The Commission is worried that the proliferation of social media platforms is facilitating the publication and spread of inaccurate and untrue stories as if they were correct and factual.

"Citizens are hereby reminded that the creation and distribution of fake news, if not checked, could plunge our society into chaos,” the NCCE said in a statement.

The NCCE also said in the statement that the use of unrestrained comments is dangerous with days to the December 7 polls.

“The trading of insults, peddling of falsehood, and deployment of intemperate language in the run-up to the 2020 elections is also distressing, especially as we are just four days away from the polls,” the NCCE statement said.

Read the full statement below