A majority of Nigerians want unrestricted access to the Internet and social media, Afrobarometer survey findings show. The level of support for unfettered Internet and social media access is among the highest recorded across 18 African countries.
Among the two-thirds of Nigerians who are aware of social media, large majorities say these digital platforms keep people informed and enable them to have more impact on political processes. And while majorities also see social media as making people more likely to believe fake news and more intolerant of different opinions, positive views of its overall effects on society outnumber negative assessments by a ratio of 6 to 1.
As Nigeria has been rocked by #EndSARS protests against police brutality, Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed has called for a social media policy that will help regulate the spread of fake news. But Afrobarometer findings show that Nigerians are more likely to blame politicians for disseminating false information than social media users and activists.
