How Social Media Almost Ruined My 40-Year-Old Marriage – Lai Mohammed

How Social Media Almost Ruined My 40-Year-Old Marriage – Lai Mohammed

Former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, recently disclosed how social media nearly jeopardized his four-decade-long marriage. Speaking at an event in Lagos commemorating Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka’s 90th birthday anniversary, Mohammed highlighted the challenges he encountered during his tenure, particularly the proliferation of fake news, misinformation, and disinformation……READ ALSO Lai Mohammed Supports Social Media Regulation To Combat Misinformation

Mohammed recounted an incident in 2018 when he was in Lagos for official duties. In the middle of the night, his wife woke him up to discuss a serious issue related to social media. Initially alarmed, Mohammed soon realized his wife’s demeanor indicated it wasn’t a security breach but rather a personal matter.

His wife confronted him with accusations stemming from a fake story circulating on social media. The story falsely claimed that government officials, including ministers in the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, had amassed large sums of money in overseas accounts. Mohammed was taken aback by the accusation, unable to fathom how his wife could believe such misinformation.

During his tenure, Mohammed’s ministry uncovered numerous online publications dedicated to spreading fake news against the previous administration, totaling 476 in number. He emphasized that social media has become a preferred platform for disseminating fake news by various groups, including anti-state entities, anarchists, secessionists, terrorists, and bandits.

Mohammed underscored the evolving nature of fake news, noting the use of Artificial Intelligence and deep learning techniques to produce highly realistic manipulated content, including videos, audio recordings, and images. The pervasiveness of fake news poses significant challenges not only in the realm of politics but also in personal relationships, as illustrated by Mohammed’s experience with his marriage.