By RFIPalled on 21-02-2019Modified on 21-02-2019 at 23:29

In Nigeria, the campaign for the general elections ends on Thursday, February 21 at midnight. A campaign largely marked by fake news.

It's almost become a habit. Since the start of the electoral campaign in Nigeria, many politicians have to deny false information circulating on social networks. This Thursday, it was the turn of outgoing Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, targeted by a rumor of resignation.

" There is deliberate propaganda. There is information that I resigned. And it's everywhere, he's offended. Under the pretext that I was not present at the security meeting. I was just at my desk! "

This release is the latest episode in an election campaign marked by the resurgence of false information, all more whimsical than the others. Like the one saying that outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari was a clone. Or this fake video showing the opponent Atiku Abubakar exchanging a handshake with Donald Trump even before having set foot in the United States in January. In recent days, images of ballot jams from previous polls were diverted and presented as topical

Could infoxs have become a new propaganda tool for the political class? David Ajikobi, editor-in-chief of the Nigerian office of Africa Check, is convinced of this. " What we are seeing now is unprecedented. Fake news are now an integral part of political and propaganda strategies. And it's not as if one party was more guilty than another, no, it exists on both sides, all over the political spectrum , "he says.

Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp are committed to strengthening the controls of messages posted on Nigerian social networks. Nevertheless, observers fear a spread of false results after the election, which could lead to violence.

Elections in Nigeria: an uneven end of season

The extension of the election campaign lasted barely three days. Three days marked by strong exchanges between the two main parties, the PDP and the APC, who accused each other of cheating and complicity with the Electoral Commission. Invectives, but little debate on the substance of the program.

The postponement of the general elections, decided at the last moment by the Electoral Commission, resulted in unforeseen expenses. For small parties, the impact has been significant. " The postponement of the election is for us a financial bleeding, because we had exhausted all our media in communication. We no longer had t-shirts and posters. It was thus necessary to seek funds to print again, explains Azeez Olu Quadry, one of the advisers of Banky W., artist who seeks a seat in the House of Representatives. We did not have enough money to run a campaign worthy of the name. A single day of field costs between 700,000 and 1 million naira, because you have to pay volunteers and plan something for the target communities during the visits. But we did not have enough money to continue the campaign. "

The small candidates had to resolve to finish their campaign via local radio and TV.

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