(Being the text of a paper presented by Ekemini Udim Esq to participants at a seminar organised by the Conference of Online Publishers in Akwa Ibom – COOPA held in Eden Hotel, Eket, Akwa Ibom State on Saturday 7th October, 2023)
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Preamble
It gives me great joy to be here before this august gathering today to discuss a topic which I am sure is of concern to many and indeed, there is no better time than now to have a conversation around this topic. I therefore appreciate the organisers of this gathering for making this, one of the topics for discussion. I received an invitation to be part of this meeting barely a week ago and I must thank the organisers for the invitation. I welcome you all to this gathering and I appreciate you in advance for your kind attention.
Introduction
The world today has been described by many as a ‘global village.’ This description became necessary following the endless possibilities of the internet. Through the internet, the world can be viewed from our palms. Through the internet, communication has been made seamless. From mother Africa, we can communicate real-time with our peers, family members and business partners abroad. They can do same with us from wherever they are. In the entire stretch of the history of mankind there is hardly any manmade thing that has penetrated the world like the internet. What is more, the internet is loved by all persons irrespective of age, political perspective or religious belief. If you do not use the internet for educational research purpose, you will use it for entertainment on social media. Banking will also give you reason to love the internet. It can thus be rightly said that the internet has come to define the activities of man in society and the internet space has come to stay. In some countries today, the right to access the internet is a fundamental human right which should not be denied by anyone.
Online publishing
Some professions have been inexistence for thousands of years. Medicine is in this category. Teaching is in this category. The science of the building of human habitation is in this category. Law is in this category. The pen profession – journalism – is in this category too. From time immemorial, some persons picked special interest in reporting the activities of man in society. They interrogated situations in society. They kept records. They followed up with development. They acted as conscience of society and in no time, ignoring them or taking them for a ride became a serious risk for anyone to take. As society evolved, the pen profession evolved with society. In fact, the pen profession has assisted immensely in the evolution of society. It has given direction to society in many ways. This is how significant the journalism profession has been for many years and will continue to be.
But, it is important to note that for several years, the publication of news was done the traditional way, namely, in physical prints. Some newspapers were so big and sometimes most inconveniencing to go about with but man had no choice than to bear the inconvenience with equanimity. Later on, newspapers were reduced into sizable forms with the advent of technology but still the tradition of conveying news in physical prints was still the order of the day. This culture or traditional of physical printing of newspapers came with its own benefits and also came with hazards. In Nigeria for instance, several publishing houses had to deploy men and resources to convey large chunks of newspaper wraps to travel at night all the way from Lagos to other parts of the country for distribution to vendors to sell at day break. It is true that this practice is still ongoing but you will agree with me that it is no more in the proportion and volume that it was in the 80s and 90s. It came with its hazards – some drivers lost their lives to the bad roads and others were robbed by daredevil criminals.
The internet came and disrupted the status quo. Through the internet, online publishing was introduced. Some traditional newspaper houses dismissed it at the initial stage and continued in their physical printing of newspapers. But the force of the internet was too strong for the traditional newspaper houses to continue to remain indifferent. Meanwhile, online publishing had sprung up and had taken the internet space. It was characterised by real-time publishing of the news. It was convenient and accessible from everywhere and at any time. Several companies preferred them and placed adverts with these online papers. The attraction was too good to ignore and the traditional publishers had no option than to embrace online publishing to avoid being put out of circulation by the online publishers most of whom were young and vibrant men and women of the pen profession who were poised to make a difference. Online publishing has indeed come to stay and the world can hardly do without it.
The increasing scourge of Harassment
While we celebrate the beauty of online publishing, one cannot fail to mention the fact that in recent time, online publishers, bloggers and social media influencers have become endangered species. They have been haunted across the globe. In Nigeria, the situation is not better. Many online publishers, bloggers and social media influencers have been arrested by the police and sister security agencies and detained for days un-end at the behest of some powerful members of society who walk the earth as the untouchables. Today we have influential men and women in the Nigerian society who strongly believe that they are above criticism. That their activities should never be scrutinized by any journalist or any person born of a woman. Here lies the cross of the online publisher, blogger and influencer. He is constantly on the radar of the security agencies and closely monitored. In most instances, the online journalist is not sure of the story that will annoy the political actor and activate his arrest and detention. In the course of my practice law, I have had occasion to defend journalists dragged to court by the police at the behest or instigation of the high and mighty. The reality today is that there is indeed an existential threat to the online journalism profession. This is a serious matter for which society must address. If I am to itemise the names of online media practitioners that have been arrested, locked up and charged to court after much pressure, we certainly will not leave here today. But the records are there for all to see and feel the impact of the increasing scourge of harassment faced by online publishers, bloggers & social media influencers. Some have even lost their lives in the course of duty.
The Legal Burden of Online Publishing
I have had occasion to admonish my friends in the media on a number of issues. They have also asked me about the position of the law on serval issues. What I normally advise – and which I love to repeat here – is that your work as online publishers, bloggers, social media influencers and any other nomenclature that you may be called, must be anchored on truth. You must be factual in your reportage. You should never publish what you know is not true or have reason to believe that it is not true. This is the first legal burden of the online publisher. The burden to ensure that your reportage is factual and anchored on truth.
If you truly appreciate the power of the media you will never publish fake news against any human being or against any institution. Your writing can destroy a man forever. Be sure before you publish. That way, if you run into trouble, it will be easier to defend you. But when your publication cannot withstand the crucible of interrogation, your case becomes a difficult one to navigate and assist. Be factual and be bold to defend your facts. In law, truth is a complete defence for any journalist who is arrested for making a publication.
There is another legal burden or responsibility; a responsible online publisher should have his media name registered under the laws of the country you operate. Under what name are you making your publication? Have you registered the name? If you have not, there is a legal responsibility on you to have your brand registered. It makes yours a responsible media outlet. It shows that you are a serious-minded person who is not hiding behind the keyboard to defame people or promote illegality.
Hate speech and incitement. You have a legal responsibility not to use your platform to promote hate speech nor use same to incite any segment of society into violence. As an online publisher, you are a stakeholder in society and you have a role not to stoke violence through your publication. The world cannot forget in a hurry the horror of the Rwandan Genocide which was accelerated beyond proportion by an aspect of the media – the radio. Members of your forum must avoid falling on this wrong side of history.
You also have a burden to keep society constantly informed about events in society. In doing so, you should never be selective. Break the news as it is, no matter the person or persons involved, provided what you are reporting is the truth and nothing but the truth. When you introduce the evil of favouritism into your reportage for reason of friendship, affinity or for tangential perquisites, you have failed in your role as an online publisher, blogger and influencer. You must report fairly and without holding back the truth. Your report must be objective, unbiased, and balanced. This should apply in all circumstances and to all people. This is a sacred burden which you owe to society. The Watergate Scandal in Washington was reported by journalists from New York Times and their report led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. None of these journalists went to jail. Their report was factual and no security agency could press charges against them. Go to the bottom of the news and report it to the world as it is.
You must be ready to do your work, despite internal and external pressures. You must stand firm but you must apply wisdom. Know when to continue and know when to stop. Know when you walk the streets free and know when to work under cover. This is because, the journalist must be alive to continue the work of journalism. Your personal safety is therefore very important. But you must never be afraid nor give in easily to pressure, especially when you know that your report is true and verifiable.
The High and Mighty are Not always the Problem
Power people in society have been more of an albatross to online publishers, bloggers and social media influencers. They are the ones that employ the instrument of the state against your fold. They pay monies for your members to be arrested and tortured. They press charges in courts and do all manner of humiliating things against your members when they feel slighted by any online publication. We must rise in unison to condemn this practice which has become more of a recurring decimal in Nigeria today.
But anyone who earnestly desires to move forward in life and make meaningful progress in his career path and in life generally, must be someone who is able to tell himself the truth and who is ready to listen to the truth. This preposition therefore calls for the telling of the truth to this gathering. And here is the truth: Most of your members have not done well in the last couple of years. Some of them fabricate stories against people and launch them into the internet space. They do little or no verification of facts before going public. They publish to malign and, in that process, homes have been broken, relationships have been destroyed and businesses have been made to crumble. This category of online publishers, bloggers and social media influencers have become a problem to society. They have caused society more harm than good. When such persons are arrested, detained and charged to court, they should tell themselves the truth; that they themselves caused their woes. This therefore calls for responsible journalism. It pays to be responsible in your practice of the pen profession.
It is true that, every worker is susceptible to the hazards of his profession, but there are several online publishers, bloggers and influencers that have never been arrested let alone detained or taken to court. Such persons have mastered the art of breaking the news with facts. Strive to understudy them and know what they do. When Hon. Barr. Onofiok Luke was the Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, some members of the House defected from the party that elected and pledged allegiance and membership to another political party and their seats were declared vacant. They went to court and I was called upon by the Speaker to defend the House as their external solicitor. I presented the best possible defence and we won the cases up to the Court of Appeal. The courts were unanimous that their seats were lawfully declared vacant. This was a heated situation in the country at the time and it was a fertile atmosphere for anyone to cash in and publish fake news.
But I tell you a story – I received calls from two journalists who were interested in verifying the truth and I take the liberty to mention their names here – Cletus Ukpong of Premium Times and, Ifreke Nsewo of the Mail Newspaper. They literally grilled me on phone for more than an hour each. They called to double check their facts. When done with me, they asked if I had the phone number of the lawyer on the other side. I provided them with the number and I understand that they also called the lawyer to equally verify the facts. Their reports came out with facts and were faultless. For me, this is the way to go. Verify your facts before you go to the press.
The way forward
A bill should be originated and forwarded to the House of Assembly for a Law to offer specific protection to online publishers, bloggers and social media influencers. Experts should be brought in to prepare the bill and, in its provisions, the peculiarities of online publishing should be carefully captured.
Secondly, the political class should see the online publisher as a partner in the governance process and should desist from the incessant use of the instrument of cohesion for the harassment of online publishers, bloggers and influencers.
The Nigeria Police Force and sister security agencies should not jump at every request to arrest and detain an online publisher. Petitions should be carefully scrutinised in-house with media experts in the police and possibly with police lawyers so as to arrive at informed decisions on whether to publication complained of is defamatory at all.
Also, and most importantly, the online publisher, blogger and social media influencer must learn to work with caution. Truth must be the light that guide his day-to-day activity. The law is no respecter of anyone and when you work with reckless abandon, the consequences are severe.
Lastly, there must be training and re-training of the online publishers, bloggers and social media influencers. Your specie of journalism is relatively new and there is need for regular and robust brainstorming sessions to keep yourselves abreast with the trend in your profession and with the law and to remind yourselves of the dos and the donts of your trade.
I thank you all for your time.
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