55
Atikulated Youth Force, an online campaign mobilising support for the Presidential
Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has raised alarm
over the activities of Paul Carsten, a Reuters Correspondent in Nigeria.
In a statement released by its spokesperson, Stanley Ebosie on Thursday, 10th
January 2019, the group condemned the activities of Reuters Nigeria Correspondent
Paul Carsten, who shared a fake video disparaging the Presidential Candidate of the
PDP, Atiku Abubakar, and linking him with the Boko Haram terrorist group.
“It is unfortunate that at a time that Nigeria is suffering grave losses to the Boko
Haram insurgency, a representative of a reputable global news agency would be
irresponsible enough to deliberately seek to spread what was clearly a fake news
campaign launched against the opposition candidate.
“It is not just disgraceful, it is also extremely dangerous and worrisome that a
journalist who represents the Reuters brand validated a fake news report by sharing
the link on his verified Twitter account, thereby giving it more exposure and traction.
It is not surprising that the Deputy Spokesman of the ruling All Progressives
Congress (APC), Yekini Nabena posted the same video using Paul Carsten’s tweet
as a pretext for sharing it.
“The build up to Nigeria’s general elections is already tense. It is disheartening that
instead of joining the campaign against fake news, the representative of a news
agency like Reuters is caught in the very act.
“We call on Reuters to do the responsible thing and take every necessary action on
Paul Carsten immediately
