In continuation of its twitter chat on Covid19 and looking at how the virus is fast spreading across states in Nigeria with many misinformation spreading especially from the religious people in the country, the Centre for Information Technology and Development hosted Aliyu Dahiru Aliyu, an Editor/ Researcher with HumAngle Newspaper, an online Newspaper based in Abuja to discuss on how these misinformation from religious people are spreading in the society like wildfire and how we can tackle them. Mr. Aliyu who is an expert in the area of countering misinformation started by explaining how these messages are being circulated and how they are affecting the war against this deadly virus where he stated that “Misinformation and conspiracy theories spread by religious clerics and their followers have made the war against the pandemic problematic. While some believe Covid-19 doesn’t exist, others think it will not affect them because of their religious beliefsâ€. He continued to say that “In Kano state, for example, many people believe the virus was created to stop Muslims from going to mosques for a congregational prayer. It became hard to ask people to observe social distancing in local mosques because of their beliefsâ€. Also when he was asked about how do the messages being accepted by the followers of these religions, Mr. Aliyu explained that “Religion is a very powerful. Clerics have the power of manipulating their followers through rhetoric and conspiracy theories. Many people were influenced by the misinformation they spread and stopped observing Covid-19 protocols. It means the false messages and conspiracy theories being spread by these clerics are well being accepted by their followersâ€
Discussions from the Chat:
Join me to welcome
@ICTAdvocates today’s twitter chat guest on #CITADagainstCovid19, @Aliyussufiy, Editor/Researcher with @HumAngle_ who will discuss on Covid19 Second Wave: Countering Misinformation from Religious Perspective. Welcome sir @YZYau @macfound @a_sabo12 @ICTAdvocates and 7 others
Thank you, Ali. It’s great being here with you
Question:
Sir, can we start by knowing how badly these religious misinformation affected the fight against Covid19 specifically in Kano?
@YZYau
@ICTAdvocates
@teemerh_beekay
@IIEglobal
Answers:
Misinformation and conspiracy theories spread by religious clerics and their followers have made the war against the pandemic problematic. While some believe Covid-19 doesn’t exist, others think it will not affect them because of their religious beliefs.
In Kano state, for example, many people believe the virus was created to stop Muslims from going to mosques for a congregational prayer. It became hard to ask people to observe social distancing in local mosques because of their beliefs.
Question:
How have these messages being accepted by the followers?
@Aliyussufiy
@YZYau
@teemerh_beekay
@kamalkano
@IsaKamilu
Answers:
Religion is a very powerful. Clerics have the power of manipulating their followers through rhetoric and conspiracy theories. Many people were influenced by the misinformation they spread and stopped observing Covid-19 protocols.
It means the false messages and conspiracy theories being spread by these clerics are well being accepted by their followers
Question:
Does this means they accept these messages hook, line and sinker?
Answers:
Yes. Followers rely on the clerics for Information related to the pandemic instead of the medical authorities. This gave the clerics the power of manipulating them with conspiracy theories and false information.
Question:
Some have negatively perceived to avoid anything from the western world including vaccines, do you think that religious bodies can play roles in changing the mindset?
@HariraWakili
@kamalkano
Answers:
Most of them do that during religious lecture sessions in mosques or on Friday pulpits. With the new technology, their messages get recorded and uploaded on social media and that garner for them lots of reaches and the more influence.
Lots of works need to be done, but as a matter of urgency fact-checks and media literacy articles are very important. People need to know the truth so as to stop consuming misleading information.
Question:
Of recent, experts in the field of science have developed vaccines for Covid19 treatment, and from what we have gathered there were rumors that the developers of the vaccines have ulterior motives; how is this misinformation travels among people of Kano State?
@YZYau
@IIEglobal
Answers:
From the first day the discussions on vaccines started, many people started saying the pandemic itself was a plan by Bill Gates to control them by implanting a chip in their bodies in the name of vaccine. This rumor is still getting circulated among people in Kano.
Question:
So there is tendency people will resist the vaccine?
@YZYau
@isyaku12
@kamalkano
Answers:
Definitely. Especially the one by Pfizer due to what happened some years back when the company was testing a different vaccine in Kano State and it went wrong.
Question: @Aliyussufiy @ICTAdvocates and 9 others is it also the work of the conspiracy theorists’ clerics?
Answers:
@a_sabo12
@ICTAdvocates
and 9 others
I can’t say. Many people are now getting false information on social media mostly from anti-vaccine platforms. Some people translate the misinformation from one language to another and recirculate it at lower levels.
Question:
As we are coming to the end of this discussion, what are your advice to people regarding this pandemic and what are your recommendations to govt to ensure these conspiracy theorists clerics are being tackled in the state?
@YZYau
@ICTAdvocates
@MatthewTPage
Answers:
People should always be conscious of the information they consume. They should apply critical thinking whenever they come across an information that seems controversial or has the potential to mislead public. Avoid echo chambers and check your biases.
Government should sponsor jingles and fund fact-checkers who will spend their time fighting false information. The education curriculum in Nigeria should have critical thinking as a compulsory subject so as to have future men and women who will ensure everything is alright.
Final remarks:
Here we come to the end of this discussion, On behalf of
@ICTAdvocates’s E.D, @YZYau we thank our guest, @Aliyussufiy for the wonderful one hour discussion on Countering Covid19 Misinformation from Religious Perspective. Thank you once again sir. @IIEglobal
@teemerh_beekay