Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, has urged journalists and communication professionals to embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI) and strengthen fact-checking practices to improve media operations and tackle misinformation.
The Governor who was represented by his Special Adviser on Media, Ismaila Isah,stated this at a capacity-building workshop for journalists and communications practitioners in Lokoja on Wednesday.
Isah, who declared the workshop open on the behalf of the Governor, warned that the growing use of AI and social media had increased the spread of deepfakes, misinformation and disinformation, stressing that unverified reports could damage reputations and have serious consequences for society.
“Please remember to always verify before you amplify your stories,” he told participants, urging journalists and information officers to make verification a priority in their professional practice.
He also called for practical training sessions that would enable participants to apply the skills acquired, noting that AI could make journalists and communications professionals work faster, smarter and more efficiently.
Speaking on the Kogi State Government’s media strategy, Isah highlighted the establishment of LugardTV, the LugardTV Monthly Newsletter and the Annual Media Performance Report as initiatives aimed at strengthening the government’s media presence and documenting its activities.
The Managing Director of Image Merchants Promotion Limited publishers of PRNigeria and Economic Confidential, and organisers of the workshop, Yushau Shuaib, said the training was organised to address gaps in the capacity of journalists, public relations practitioners and communication officers to adopt and use modern communication tools.
He said the initiative also catered to young professionals who might lack the financial resources to access specialised training.
Shuaib acknowledged the support of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and expressed hope that the Kogi State Government would support similar capacity-building programmes.
Former Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kogi State Council, Alhaji Ali Atabor, described the training as timely, considering the changing media landscape in Nigeria and Kogi State in particular.
He commended the organisers and Governor Ododo for contributions to the development of the media industry in the state, urging participants to apply the knowledge gained in their professional activities.
A participant, Yusuf Momoh, News Editor at Tao 101.9 FM, said the training had improved his understanding of AI applications in news editing, particularly in verifying information and debunking false claims.
He pledged to apply the knowledge acquired in his work as a journalist, stressing the need for journalists to authenticate information before publication.
The workshop with the theme “AI in Strategic Communication and Fact-Checking Tools,” was organised by Image Merchant Promoting in collaboration with the Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC), with support from National Information Technology Development Agency.
