“Everybody calm down! I swear, Channels just confirmed it!”
Bisi burst into the student lounge like someone who had just seen her exam results and failed. Her face was sweaty from the rush, her eyes wide with urgency. She held up her phone like it was the Ten Commandments.
“Breaking: JAMB cancels all 2024 results due to mass cheating!” she read aloud, voice trembling.
Adamu froze mid-bite, the meat pie dangling dangerously between his fingers. “Eh? Cancel wetin? I don tell my mummy say I get 290 o!”
Phones flew out of pockets like weapons. Screens lit up. Panic rippled through the room.
Kunle squinted at the image on Bisi’s phone. “Wait. That font no dey show for real Channels na.”
“Who cares about font?” Bisi snapped. “It’s there! Screenshot no dey lie!”
But Ada, ever the sceptic, was already checking. Calmly. Deliberately.
“Guys,” she said, holding up her own screen. “No post like that on Channels’ page. In fact, the handle on this your screenshot na @Channels_TV_Officialzz. Double Z.”
A beat of silence.
Then Kunle burst out laughing. “Ah! Z for zobo! Bisi, you don carry us enter one chance o.”
Adamu sighed, dramatically placing his meat pie back on its plate like it had betrayed him. “So JAMB no cancel anything?”
“No,” Ada said. “Na fake news. And not even the smart kind.”
Bisi slumped into a chair, covering her face. “I swear, it looked real. The layout, the caption, even the comment section. Everything align.”
“That’s how e dey be,” Ada replied. “Fake news these days no dey wear wrapper. E dey wear suit and tie.”
The real lesson behind the drama
What Bisi shared looked urgent, real and viral. But it was imposter content, a fake platform pretending to be a credible one. And sadly, it worked… for a few sweaty minutes.
Fake news isn’t always dramatic or obviously ridiculous. Sometimes, it mimics trusted voices. It feeds off fear, curiosity or hope. In Bisi’s case, it was fear — fear that her academic progress was about to be wiped out.
Fake news thrives when we act faster than we think. And in a country where network is slow but gossip is fast, the damage often spreads before the truth catches up.
The many faces of fake news
- Fabricated content
Made-up stories from start to finish.
“FG bans women from eating suya.”
False from title to full stop. - Manipulated content
A real image or video that has been edited to deceive.
A peaceful protest photo edited to show violence.
Context is gone, credibility is ruined. - Imposter content
A fake source pretending to be a trusted one.
Like @Channels_TV_Officialzz.
Double Z, double wahala. - Misleading content
True facts twisted into something else.
“Senator caught on camera at club,” when he was actually attending a fundraising gala with a DJ. - False connection
The headline and story don’t match.
Headline: “Actress dies in car crash!”
Actual story: She acted in a film about a crash. - Satire or parody
Meant to be jokes… until someone forwards it on a family group chat as gospel truth.
“Nigerian government to replace army uniforms with agbada.”
So, what’s the big deal?
In a country where gist moves faster than NEPA light, fake news can spark real damage:
- Students panic.
- Families worry.
- Communities riot.
- Scammers cash out.
And sometimes, it’s not just panic. During elections, fake news can shift votes. In times of crisis, it can divide communities. In health emergencies, it can kill. Remember when people drank bleach because they believed it cured COVID? That’s fake news too.
The more we share without verifying, the more power we give to lies. And lies, when dressed up as news, can walk into places truth hasn’t reached yet.
Final thought (from Ada, obviously):
“Before you forward gist, ask:
Is it true?
Who talk am?
Abi na clout?”
Because not every news is news. Some na digital pepper soup. Hot, spicy and full of nothing. But if you sip am without sense, you go burn yourself.
So, next time, be like Ada. Scroll well. Check well. Think well. Because the truth doesn’t shout, but it always finds a way to speak.
