Following the change of ownership at the micro-blogging platform, Twitter, the Federal Government on Thursday said it is “closely monitoring the evolving developments at the social platform.”
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said this in Abuja at the third edition of the “President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration (PMB) Scorecard 2015-2023” programme.
According to him, the warning to the social media platforms became imperative because of the spike in fake news and disinformation following the change in ownership of a micro-blogging site, Twitter.
“Permit me to quickly address an issue that has elicited a lot of inquiries from the media in recent times.
“Many of your colleagues have called to ask us what will become of our agreement with Twitter in view of the change in its ownership.
“Many have asked for our reaction following reports that there has been a spike in fake news, disinformation and hate speech since the micro-blogging site changed ownership.
“Many have even asked us if another ban is in the offing.
”Let me say this: We are closely monitoring the evolving developments at Twitter.
“It has never been our intention to ban any social media platform or stifle free speech. Not at all.
“But we will also not sit by and allow any platform whatsoever to throw our nation into crisis,” he said.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, in June 2021, suspended the activities of Twitter in the country after the platform deleted the president’s tweet for violating one of its rules.
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