FAQs as a New Counter-Fact-Checking Tool (CFT) in Nigerian Politics

Without a doubt, political actors use a variety of strategies and tactics to market candidates’ personalities and qualifications to the electorate while promoting their party’s agenda. Attack is one of the primary methods of campaigning that is typically used to engage the public. It gives actors the chance to draw attention to the candidates’ shortcomings in the areas of their education, finances, families, and health in order to cast doubt on their abilities and leadership, as well as to ensure that the electorate has a negative opinion of them before the election.

One of the most difficult tasks before and during the campaign period has always been getting rid of negative narratives about the candidates. This is based on the idea that it is challenging to sift through the various negative narratives spread through emerging technologies, particularly social media and some traditional media outlets, due to the difficulty in quickly identifying the main actors and the audience’s acceptance of alternative narratives.

In this piece, our analyst examines the use of Frequently Asked Questions, which according to various sources was developed for the SPACE mailing list by Eugene Miya of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.

It was created between 1982 and 1985 with the intention of assisting the public in understanding various issues with the organization. It has become one of the most important tools in business management over time, particularly for establishing long-lasting relationships with clients by assisting them in gathering first-hand information to clear up any ambiguity surrounding the use of products or services.

Our analyst describes the tool’s use by All Progressives Congress presidential candidate Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the upcoming Nigerian presidential election as a new counter fact-checking tool. It is a counter fact-checking tool because the candidate and his party appear to be innovative in their approach to addressing the problem of fake news, misinformation, and disinformation in a political context as opposed to relying on the conventional tools and technologies used by different fact-checking organizations in Nigeria.

Given the significant controversies that have surrounded the candidate and his party since 2015, our analyst observes that the use has become crucial for them. Our data demonstrate that, between 2015 and 2022, the spread significantly increased the digital public’s interest in knowing his age (n=629) and health status (n=123), as opposed to his paternity (n=86), education (n=84), and perception of him as “a drug baron” (n=39). The ages of many people have been used as a basis for figuring out his age. In 2022, his daughter Folashade Ojo, along with Senator Oluremi Tinubu, his wife, and the age of former vice president Atiku Abubakar, have been primarily used to determine his proper age.

Exhibit 1: Digital public interest as controversies spread between 2015 and 2022

According to a special daily insight from the Centre for Research on Development of African Media, Governance and Society, and the Positive Agenda Nigeria, which monitor ongoing 2023 presidential election campaign, the examination of the 35-page document reveals that Senator Tinubu and his party used his past performance as the governor of Lagos State as the foundation  to acclaim his readiness and competence to lead the nation, and as an alternative narrative to that of his opponents, who in the last five years,  tend to create controversies on 12 issues around him, including issues around his  age,  paternity, criminal record, religious dispositions, and state of health. In the document, four concerns about Senator Kashim Shettima, his vice-presidential candidate, were also covered, with particular focus on his relationship with some alleged Boko Haram sect members.