General News
Addressing Ethical Challenges in the Use of Digital Media in Nigeria
By Gabriel T. Nyitse, PhD and Felix C. Elele
Digital media has revolutionized the communication landscape globally and disrupted traditional media’s dominance in all its ramifications by ushering a new vista in citizen engagement. The world has witnessed unprecedented growth in the adoption of digital media as the global population of internet users hit 5.18 billion, representing 64.6 percent of the world’s population according to data from Statista.
Out of the entire global population, 4.8 billion individuals use social media. On the other hand, DataReport on “The State of Digital in Nigeria in 2023” reveals that there were 122.5 million internet users in Nigeria by December 2022, representing a penetration rate of 55.4%. In addition, social media users in Nigeria stand at 31.60 million, or 14.3 percent of the total population.
With technological advancement, the number is also projected to grow, as there will be more convergence of social media, artificial intelligence (AI), and virtual reality.
Digital media, according to Wikipedia, is “any communication media that operate in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on electronic devices, including digital data storage media and digital broadcasting”.
It refers to the transmission of digital information via screen and/or speaker. It includes websites, online video/audio broadcasts, email, online social platforms, online communities, online forums, blogs, Internet telephony, Web advertising, online education, and a great deal more. In addition, digital news media includes online journalism, blogging, digital photojournalism, citizen journalism and social media.
There has been a growing concern about ethical issues in the utilisation of digital media space due to its unregulated, instantaneous, and decentralized nature. This is made possible because anyone with the necessary device and minimal technical knowledge can be a prominent participant in the digital world, proclaim their message to the world, and demand an audience. In the midst of every innovative disruption, novel possibilities emerge while established customs and practices are threatened and today is no different.
Digital media is transforming to a new genre in journalism that is a blend of professional and citizen-driven journalism where one feeds the other as a news source. This fusion is noticeable even in developed countries as studies show that journalists monitor social media activity closely and use them in their reporting.
Shannon C. McGregor, Assistant Professor, Hussman School of Journalism and Media, at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, postulated that tweets are increasingly incorporated into traditional journalistic coverage of political events and that journalists rely on Twitter to decide which events and voices are newsworthy.
This assertion is also corroborated in an article published in the Nation Newspaper on August 29, 2021 where the author stated that these days in Nigeria, a radio or television program is incomplete without media outlets’ social media handles, through which they can be followed and reached.
This Ethics is one of the cardinal principles of journalism and the fulcrum of media practice. It is the conscience and integrity quotient of journalism. Digital media ethics focuses on the unique ethical issues, practices, and standards of digital news media.
It addresses how professional journalism should utilize new media to conduct research and publish stories, as well as how to use text or images provided by citizens. Globally, the nature of journalism is being transformed as professional journalists are contesting the media space with tweeter users, citizen journalists, social media users, and bloggers.
These new entrants raise emerging ethical issues in journalism. Stephen J.A. Ward of the Centre for Journalism Ethics, University of Winconsin-Madison opined: “We are moving towards a mixed news media – a news media citizen and professional journalism across many media platforms.
This new mixed news media requires new mixed media ethics–guidelines that apply to amateur and professional whether they blog, tweet, broadcast or write for newspapers. The nagging question then is: What implications can ethics hold for a profession that is required to deliver immediate news and analysis, in an era where anyone possessing an internet-enabled device with a modem can act as a publisher?
This brings to the fore, the overall ethical controversy between the traditional journalism culture of gatekeeping, balance and objectivity and the online culture of immediacy and non-editorial review.
In relying on citizen journalists for information and in the quest to remain relevant and join the bandwagon of being the first to break the news, the ethical standards of balance, objectivity, facts and verification are being compromised. Through social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, blogs, mobile phones, and email, news and images circulate around the world with astounding speed.
Speed places newsrooms under pressure to publish stories before they have been adequately checked and verified as to their source and the veracity of alleged facts. The phenomenon of sensationalism and rumourmongering in journalism is attributed to the economic competitiveness of the industry and the constant demand for 24-hour digital news coverage.
In addition, conventional journalists and media organisations have adopted various social media platforms such as a means of connecting with their audience and sharing their perspectives and viewpoints. Consequently, the absence of substantial reporting or analysis leads to a disregard for journalistic integrity.
The internet contains vast amounts of information, a significant portion of which lacks proper evaluation for both accuracy and relevance. These grave ethical lapses call for concern as a media that thrives on speed has the potential to cause significant damage to society.
On a broader perspective, there is this ethical issue of who is a journalist and what is journalism in the digital media ecosystem. The democratization of media technology muddles the identity of journalists and the definition of journalism. In the traditional media, journalists were a clearly defined set of professionals who wrote for mainstream media. It was easy to identify “gentlemen of the press.” But today, citizens without formal training in journalism write in ways that fit the definition of a journalist as a person who frequently writes for the public or audience about public issues.
In Nigeria, there is this debate as to whether those who write for popular blogs such as Linda Ikeji Blog, Gistlover, and Zikolo etc., as well as social news sites such as Gamji.com and Nigeriavillagesquare.com, Pulse etc., or social media sites such as Nairaland, allAfrica, naNAIJA.com, and onlineNigeria journalists?
A lack of clarity regarding who constitutes a journalist results in foundational ethical conflicts regarding who practices journalism and the question of what journalism is in this context. It is becoming difficult and sometimes unclear to determine where the term “journalism” begins and ends. The ethical challenge is the articulation of guidelines that are consistent with the ethical principles of accuracy, verification, and transparency for dealing with rumours and corrections in digital media.
A related problem created by new media is how to handle errors and corrections when news updates, reports and commentaries are continually updated via live feeds and blogging posts or TV scrolls.
Live coverage of events such as breaking news, natural disasters, elections, handover, and sports are becoming increasingly popular among journalists in Nigeria. Errors, including misspellings and factual inaccuracies, are inevitable when working at this urgency, speed and pace. Occasionally, people retweet, share, or broadcast these factual errors before they are corrected, and the resulting ethical damage can be severe.
It is a fact that unregulated digital media thrives in anonymous and faceless writing. However, the mainstream media require content providers to be identified. Journalists are cautioned by codes of conventional media ethics to use anonymous sources sparingly and only under certain conditions. The question of when anonymity is ethically permissible is therefore yet another ethical issue.
Whether it is inconsistent for the media to enforce various anonymity rules for different media platforms. What should the ethical guidelines for offline and online anonymity be? Supporters of anonymity claim that it allows unfettered freedom of speech and sometimes aids in exposing corruption and official misconduct.
Impartiality is a fundamental principle of mainstream journalism. But this principle contradicts the tenets of the new media, which encourages people to freely and equivocally express their opinions and share their thoughts. Many bloggers and online journalists perceive themselves to be opinion or partisan journalists/activists for causes and political movements and take pride in expressing their opinions and positions.
The majority of them reject the concept of neutral or objective analysis. The ethical challenge redefining what independent journalism in the public interest entails for a media in which numerous new forms of journalism are emerging and fundamental principles are being questioned. Journalists should be guided by the principle of fairness and avoid news stories that are likely to generate conflicts of interest or diminish the dignity of others.
When collecting news sources, journalists should apply research ethics of balance, confidentiality, respect for opinions, and avoidance of sensational content. In addition, journalists should not hide under the cover of technology to distort the truth or reality, manipulate facts, or sensationalize events.
In the midst of plethora of unfettered information sources online, plagiarism in digital media has become widespread. Journalists have been accused of copying stories from less popular blogs and publishing them in mainstream media as their own. Journalists are expected to ensure that their stories are original and not plagiarized. This is related to the fact that journalists are sometimes implicated in copyright violations. However, copyright infringement is a legal issue as well as an ethical one.
On the flip side, the proliferation of new image modification technologies for both photographs and videos raises new ethical concerns too. In Nigeria where fake news, disinformation and hate speech thrive, the manipulation of images is a major ethical issue and prone to fraudulent practices. Citizens and professional journalists have access to new and simple methods for capturing and transmitting images.
These images can be altered and manipulated using new technologies. This convergence of ease of capture, ease of transmission, and ease of manipulation call into question the conventional photojournalism principles that were developed for non-digital image and video capture and transmission. One concern is whether newsrooms can rely on images readily obtained by citizens and citizen journalists.
Who is the sender, and how can we be sure that this photograph represents the event in question? Another issue is whether a journalist or a member of the public used technology to alter the photograph, such as to add or remove an object.
As a way to manage digital media ethical issues, some scholars have advocated for layered journalism, which combines various forms of journalism and different types of journalists to create a multi-media offering of news and analysis written in a professional style combined with citizen journalism and interactive chat. Stephen J.A. Ward recommended that the newsroom be layered vertically and horizontally, with different editors reviewing and editing texts, videos, photographs, and audio from various sources.
As digital media continue to evolve, new ethical issues will continue to arise. However, the mainstream media must not in the cause of joining the digital bandwagon, compromise the ethical principles of Aristotle’s ‘Golden Mean’. Professional journalists must remain the check and standard for measuring journalism practice and not for survival strategies and reasons revert to pre-19th century journalism that lacks the social responsibility norm.
The media as the fourth estate of the realm must continue to be alive to its ethical responsibility to society by upholding ethical principles while adapting and adopting digital technology, which has become a major component of journalism.
Kaspersky has released its annual report on children’s digital interests, with the analysis covering the period from May 2024 to April 2025. It reveals a growing fascination with artificial intelligence (AI) powered chatbots, the viral rise of Italian brainrot memes like “tralalero tralala”, and growing attention to Sprunki — a rhythm-based game combining music and motion. YouTube remains the most popular app among children globally, while WhatsApp overtook TikTok for second place.
In today’s interconnected world, children are engaging with digital technology more than ever before. Recent studies indicate that 8-10-year-old children spend an average of six hours daily on screens, while preteens (ages 11–14) average about nine hours per day.
With such a significant portion of their lives unfolding online, it becomes especially important for parents to understand what captures their children’s attention in the digital space — what they search for, what platforms they use, and which trends influence their interests and behaviour.
Every year, new digital trends shape the way children explore the world. In this year’s report, Kaspersky found a surge of interest in AI tools. While no AI apps appeared in the Top 20 most-used applications in 2023-2024 time period, “Character.AI” has now entered the list, showing that children are not only curious about AI but are actively integrating it into their digital lives.
More than 7.5% of all search queries were about AI chatbots, led by well-known names like ChatGPT, Gemini, and especially Character.AI — a platform that lets users create or interact with bots mimicking fictional or real characters. This marks a sharp rise from last year: in the 2023–2024 report, AI-related queries made up just 3.19% of all searches, increasing more than twice this year.
However, not all chatbot interactions are risk-free. Some bots may expose children to emotionally intense content, misinformation or age-inappropriate themes, especially when created or customised by other users.
Since these platforms often rely on user-generated content and may lack strict moderation, it’s crucial to talk openly with children about how they use AI tools — and to set up apps for digital parenting, such as Kaspersky Safe Kids, that help families stay aware, involved and protected.
In Nigeria, the top 5 of the most popular Android apps were WhatsApp (28,42% – the amount of time spent on the platform), YouTube (17,41%), Chrome (11,29%), Snapchat (10,33%) and Free Fire (5,16%).
While memes made up a small portion of searches this year, they still reveal another layer of children’s digital culture. Many of the most popular memes fell into what’s called “brainrot” — a kind of absurd, deliberately chaotic humour that spreads through short videos.
Among the most searched were the Italian phrase “tralalero tralala” and a meme track called “tung tung tung sahur”. These phrases may sound random to adults, but for many children, they represent shared jokes that move quickly from platform to platform.
Among the newcomers that caught analysts’ attention was Sprunki — a rhythm-based browser game that blends music and visual interaction. Players must hit beats in sync with fast-paced audio, making the experience both immersive and physically engaging.
Its bright, cartoonish design and addictive gameplay have made it increasingly popular with younger audiences. This is reflected not only in Google searches but also on YouTube, where Sprunki entered the top five most searched gaming topics, standing alongside long-time favourites like Brawl Stars and Roblox.
At the same time, more familiar habits remain strong. The most common online activity among children was searching on Google for streaming platforms — almost 18% of all queries were related to watching videos. Unsurprisingly, YouTube remains the clear favourite Android app, growing from 28.13% to 29.77% over the past year.
WhatsApp rose to second place with 14.72%, overtaking TikTok (12.76%), while Snapchat and Facebook continued to decline. This shift may reflect evolving communication habits — children are using chat apps more frequently to share links, memes and short videos with friends.
Video content and games also remained popular topics in children’s search behaviour. Platforms like Netflix, Twitch and Disney+ held strong — a trend that also echoed findings from Kaspersky’s recent streaming report, which highlighted how entertainment platforms often become targets for cybercriminals. At the same time, in the gaming world, children continued to favour Roblox, Minecraft and increasingly, the browser-based portal Poki — a portal offering hundreds of free games, often simple, fast-paced and instantly accessible in a browser.
“This year’s trends show just how fast children’s digital culture is evolving — one day they’re chatting with AI bots, the next they’re all humming an Italian meme song you’ve never heard of. But behind every trend is a chance for connection.
“When parents take time to understand what their children are watching, playing or searching for, it opens the door to meaningful conversations — and helps build safer, more trusting digital habits. Apps for digital parenting can be a helpful tool in this journey — not only to protect, but to stay involved,” comments Anna Larkina, privacy expert at Kaspersky.
To keep children safe from online threats, Kaspersky recommends the following:
- Maintain open communication with children about potential online risks and establish clear guidelines to ensure their safety.
- Secure gaming experiences by installing a trusted security solution, such as Kaspersky Premium, to prevent malicious file downloads.
- Stay informed about emerging threats and actively monitor children’s online activities in order to create a safer digital environment.
- Introduce children to cybersecurity basics using educational tools like the Kaspersky Cybersecurity Alphabet — a free downloadable book that explains key concepts, cyber hygiene rules, and how to avoid fraud.
. Use digital parenting apps like Kaspersky Safe Kids to protect children both online and offline, manage screen time, block inappropriate content, and track their location for greater peace of mind.
Federal government has proposed setting up a National Examination Malpractice Court to swiftly prosecute exam cheats and curb malpractice nationwide.
Dr. Tunji Alausa, minister of Education, affirmed this recommendation of the 17-man committee headed by Professor Is-haq Oloyede, Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) as chairman, on Improvement of the Quality of Examination in Nigeria.
The committee which the Minister inaugurated in January this year submitted its interim report to him on Friday after about five months of extensive work, coming up with far-reaching recommendations aimed at improving the quality of examination and curbing examination malpractices in Nigeria.
Oloyede, in one of the recommendations, asked the Federal Ministry of Education to interface with the National Assembly to enact an Act to establish a National Examination Malpractice Court/Tribunal for prompt prosecution of examination malpractices to serve as a deterrent to others.
Alausa, in his response, assured the committee members that all the 12-point recommendations would be implemented, saying the government would deploy all its machinery to fight the menace of examination malpractice in Nigeria.
His words: “All the 12 recommendations that you reeled out, everyone will agree with me today that none of those recommendations will be impossible to implement. They are all practicable things. The one that we will implement now, we will do that right away, and once we leave here, myself and the permanent Secretary have work to do”.
Some of the recommendations of the committee include: “All documents, including certificates, registration and result slips, etc., should contain National Identification Number (NIN), photograph and date of birth to guard against identity theft and impersonation.
“All Invigilators and Supervisors must register through NIN and subscribe to the Examination body’s Short Code, using the same pattern of 55019/66019 of JAMB in order so track and have full information about the examination officials, including examiners, supervisors and invigilators.
“Swapping Invigilators and Supervisors, not candidates, should commence with effect from the 2025 private SSCE due to the strong views against student swapping expressed by the four concerned examination bodies (WAEC, NECO, NABTEB and NBAIS) pertaining to security, logistics and the fact that centre details are traditionally printed on candidates’ certificates
“Except where absolutely impossible, Invigilators and Supervisors should always be public officials/teachers on pensionable appointments.
“The standard requirements of examination halls/centres should not be waived for any school, while the recommended seating arrangement should be 1.5m by 1.2m, or 1.8 sqm per candidate.
“All examination halls and centres should be equipped with stationary CCTV cameras for surveillance and monitoring purposes. In addition, every examination centre shall have a mini control room where the CCTV camera is monitored for urgent and immediate alert.
“All four concerned examination bodies shall jointly own central control facilities for their use during their examinations to save costs. Body camcorders should be deployed in examination halls and centres for effective monitoring.
“At the point of entry into Basic School, every pupil must generate a unique code which is linked to his/her NIN, which must be identified with the pupil throughout his/her educational journey in Nigeria.
“The Federal Ministry of Education should interface with the National Assembly to enact an Act to establish a National Examination Malpractice Court/Tribunal for prompt prosecution of examination malpractices to serve as deterrent for others.
“The non-implementation of the 1999 Examination Malpractice Act suggests either a lack of political will or non-implementability. Consequently, the Committee recommends a review of the Act in such a manner that it can be immediately implemented to curb examination malpractice.
“Rather than wait till 2027 as initially suggested, the Computer-Based Examination (CBE) should be implemented for objective questions in 2025 private examinations and in full for school candidates in 2026.
“The 30 per cent Continuous Assessment component in the Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations has become a veritable source of corruption in the examination system due to the fraudulent process of inputting the scores in arrears.
“It is therefore recommended that the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) and any other FME agency, which must have recommended the policy for the approval of the National Council on Education (NCE), should immediately be requested to review the Continuous Assessment System”.’
General News
Nigeria Relaunches National Talent Export Programme to Unlock $1 Trillion Global Outsourcing Market
The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has announced the relaunch of the National Talent Export Programme (NATEP), a bold initiative led by the Honourable Minister, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole.
The renewed programme is designed to tap into the $1 trillion global outsourcing industry by positioning Nigeria’s youth as a world-class talent pool for digital and professional services.
“What we celebrate today is not merely the launch of a program; it represents the continuation of a vision to position Nigeria as a global leader in the future of work and services,” said Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment.
“With digital transformation firmly embedded in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic vision, Nigeria is enhancing the infrastructure, systems, and policy tools necessary for an inclusive and innovation-driven future.”
In alignment with President Tinubu’s 8-point agenda, NATEP is designed to empower Nigeria’s youth, harness global service export opportunities, and drive inclusive economic transformation. With a youthful, English-speaking population, a strategic time zone, and rapidly advancing digital infrastructure, Nigeria is uniquely positioned to become a competitive global supplier of skilled talent.
Under the leadership of Dr. Oduwole, NATEP represents a strategic move to diversify Nigeria’s economy, boost foreign exchange earnings, and create sustainable employment.
The programme will focus on aggregating global demand and connecting it with Nigeria’s skilled workforce through structured and ethical talent export pathways.
The Ministry’s goal is to create 1 million direct export-linked jobs and up to 5 million indirect jobs within five years.
In addition, NATEP aims to attract over $1 billion in foreign direct investment to Nigeria’s growing service export economy. This programme targets high-impact sectors such as technology, business process outsourcing (BPO), the creative economy, healthcare, professional services, and remote work.
As part of this relaunch, Mrs. Teju Abisoye has been appointed as the National Coordinator of NATEP. A development finance expert with over two decades of experience, she has led major national employment initiatives and played key roles in government interventions, entrepreneurship support, and private sector engagement.
Her leadership brings clarity, focus, and execution strength to the programme’s vision.
Speaking at the relaunch, Teju noted, “Our mandate at NATEP is to position Nigeria as Africa’s peerless global talent hub by building an enabling ecosystem through policy, platforms, promotion, and partnerships.
We would actualise this critical national objective by upskilling and enabling Nigeria’s teeming young human capital to take advantage of the $1 trillion global service trade, with soaring demand for digital services, outsourcing, and remote work.
This is one of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s strategic interventions to tackle youth unemployment head-on, generate vital foreign exchange, and diversify our economy through service sector expansion”.
NATEP, a Special Purpose Vehicle under the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, has evolved from a basic outsourcing facilitator into a full-scale ecosystem enabler. The programme will now drive policy reform, expand digital infrastructure, strengthen international partnerships, and create reliable talent pipelines that match global standards.
Key components of NATEP include:
- Training 10 million Nigerians in globally recognized digital and professional certifications
- Incentivizing BPO and IT-enabled service companies to expand operations in Nigeria
- Creating legal and ethical pathways for talent export in alignment with global labor needs
- Building a national talent database to map skills and track employment opportunities
- Partnering with global outsourcing platforms and employers to aggregate demand
In alignment with President Tinubu’s 8-point agenda, NATEP is designed to empower Nigeria’s youth, enhance foreign exchange earnings, and support inclusive economic transformation. With a youthful, English-speaking population, strategic time zone, and growing digital infrastructure, Nigeria is uniquely positioned to become a competitive global talent supplier.
Minister, NATEP Sign MoU with Alaro City and Itana
To mark this renewed direction, the Honourable Minister led a high-level delegation on an official visit to Alaro City, home to Itana, Nigeria’s first Digital Special Economic Zone, on Friday, May 30, 2025.
The Minister also leveraged the visit to execute a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at strengthening public-private sector collaboration and showcasing the infrastructure and innovation ecosystem that will support the programme’s success.
Dr. Oduwole stated, “I am proud to announce a significant milestone in this effort: the successful signing of a strategic agreement to create an initial 100,000 jobs across high-impact sectors — made possible through collaboration with platforms like Itana, Alaro City, and other partners to mark the beginning of a new phase of joint execution.”
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