Disinformation, Fake News, and the prolonged Academic Staff union of Universities strike: The Nigerian Universities’ story

Abstract

Information literacy skill is essential for everyone especially at this age of information overload where it is often difficult to sieve the truth out of the numerous information dissemination channels available on the Internet. Librarians and libraries are at the forefront of ensuring that only should accurate, timely, and reliable information is offered to their users. However, the scourge of disinformation and fake news has created a huge gap which libraries and librarians are expected to fill. The study examined the impact of disinformation and fake news on the prolonged Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike in Nigerian universities. Secondary data was gathered from the report by ASUU National executives and Government officials from the Ministry of Education and Labour at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Also, reactions from Nigerian students to some of the information on the Internet was mined from Twitter. Content and thematic analysis was done on the gathered data using the Braun & Clarke thematic analysis approach. The findings of the study provided a framework that can be adopted to fill information and communication gap between the university union, the government, and Nigerian students in order to limit the effect of disinformation and fake news on the public and the Nation at large. Also, the result of the study showed the reports from Government officials, Academic Staff Union of University and students’ perspectives. The study recommended that libraries should have official social media handle where current information be disseminated regularly.