It was the biggest fake news you could imagine from reputable organizations. Yes, Mr. Tunde Lemo, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank and Chairman of Flutterwave was quoted by Nairametrics, Thisday, AriseTV, etc that he ordered a shut down of Flutterwave to prevent illicit flow of funds through the payment tech company.
Many sent me the links, possibly for me to use the story. Of course, I did not believe the news. There were two reasons (1) There was nothing illicit for a company to collect money for constitutionally guaranteed rights to protest, peacefully, and (2) I used Flutterwave minutes when the system was to have been down.
Now, Flutterwave has put out a statement: “Contrary to these reports, this interview never happened. Our payment platforms are up and running efficiently, as usual.” Yes, there was no interview.
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Our attention has been drawn to false quotes by Thisday, Nairametrics and Arise TV which have been erroneously attributed to our Board Chairman, Tunde Lemo.
Contrary to these reports, this interview never happened. Our payment platforms are up and running efficiently, as usual. Merchant payouts and collections are running seamlessly. Our consumer product, Barter by Flutterwave, is also completely operational.
We are overwhelmed by the love and support Flutterwave has received over the last few days as we continue to simplify payments for endless possibilities for you.
The Flutterwave Team
Where do we go from here with malicious fake news that could have adverse effects on companies?
*image credit: Techpoint
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Don’t immediately believe or react to everything you read or watch on social media, unknown to you, you may become a carrier of fake news.
The news organisations that carried it, where did they get it from? That’s the question they need to answer.
As for organisations, you just need to have a sound and functional communication/PR department, to be putting out fire whenever it pops up; you cannot completely stop people from trying to damage you.
No progress without obstacles.