International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR)

Background: Advances in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have prompted wider access to mass media and allow persons who were hitherto receivers of information to now become disseminators of information. This is promoting the spread of fake news and as media houses rush to publish news, they fall victim by becoming carriers of fake news from these news sources. Fake news constitutes a threat to society as it causes ill feelings among citizens and against the government, and to curb these effects, there have been global moves by using fact-checking as a tool to flag fake news towards neutralizing its impacts.
Objective: This research work titled ‘Knowledge and Adoption of Fact-checking as a Tool in Combating Fake News among Journalists of Select Nigerian National Newspapers’evaluated the adoption and effectiveness of the fact-checking tool in tackling the spread of fake news in Nigeria.
Method: The descriptive survey research method was applied with data sourced through primary data by administering questionnaires to thirty (30) journalists in five selected newspaper houses in Abuja along with consulting books, journals, library archives, and other research works to review related literature and empirical studies on fact-checking and fake news. The study was further anchored on the diffusion of innovation theory of the press.
Result: Results show that the adoption of fact-checking supports the diffusion of innovation theory of the press and that journalists have a fair knowledge of the use of fact-checking as a tool to combat the menace of fake news. However, the adoption of fact-checking adoption across newsrooms is relatively slow in Nigeria compared to the adoption level in the United States and Asia. Among the reasons for the slow adoption is that most newspapers have not made it a routine publication but seasonal especially during elections.
Conclusion: The study concluded that while journalists have a fair knowledge of how effective fact-checking is in tackling the menace of fake news, its pace of adoption is rather slow in Nigeria with the trend growing only during election periods unlike the rate of adoption in Asian countries.
Unique Contribution: The results from this study contribute to a wider body of knowledge and the push for media houses to increase their adoption level of fact-checking as a tool to combat fake news.
Key Recommendation: Based on this, the study recommends that media houses should collaborate with independent fact-checking organisations to boost fact-checked reports and also create dedicated fact-checking desks, among others.