How social media almost ruined my 40-year-old marriage – Lai Mohammed

Former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has disclosed how social media posed a threat to his 40-year marriage. Mohammed revealed this during an event in Lagos commemorating the 90th birthday of Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka. He highlighted the significant challenge he encountered during his tenure as minister, which was the proliferation of fake news, misinformation, and disinformation.

Mohammed recounted an incident where the dangers of fake news almost caused irreparable harm to his marriage. He recounted an episode in 2018 when he was in Lagos for official duties. His wife woke him up at 3 am, expressing concerns about serious matters. Initially fearing a security breach, Mohammed was relieved to find his wife calm and composed.

His wife brought up a serious accusation stemming from fake news circulating at the time, which Mohammed described as a “bombshell.” He was astonished that his wife could believe such falsehoods, including stories alleging huge sums of money in overseas accounts belonging to government officials during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

Mohammed highlighted social media as the preferred platform for spreading fake news by various groups, including anti-state elements, anarchists, secessionists, terrorists, and bandits. During his time in office, his ministry identified 476 online publications dedicated to disseminating fake news against the previous administration.

He emphasized the exponential growth of fake news, facilitated by advancements in Artificial Intelligence and deep learning techniques, enabling the creation of highly realistic manipulated videos, audio recordings, or images.