Motolani Alake

<h1>It's the middle of December 2020 and one of Nigeria's leading CEOs became the 11th person to reach out to me. His message was simple and riveting, "Tolani, I think you need to join Clubhouse..."&nbsp;</h1>

My response was along the lines of, "I like the idea of Clubhouse and I think a controlled conversation-based platform, but I'm not sure I need another echo chamber in my life right now." But for the sake of experimentation, I spent three secret weeks on the platform; examining and exploring its spirit.&nbsp;

Clubhouse is a fantastic idea that's rapidly becoming a generation's answer to real-time conversations. Anike, a Digital Strategist tells Pulse Nigeria that, “I like Clubhouse because it gives me the opportunity to listen to people I would ordinarily pay a sum to listen to. It’s also giving those people an opportunity to listen to random people.”&nbsp;

<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Entered this room on CH and it’s a married man saying that he’s cheating on his wife cause he’s not sexually compatible with her. Niggas saying these things boldy. Omo mehn&mdash; B!G X ☔️ (@ExcelJoab) <a href="https://twitter.com/ExcelJoab/status/1348023183186796549?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2021</a></blockquote>
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On Saturday, January 9, 2020, Excel Joab, a Media/PR practitioner took to his Twitter and and added another advantage of Clubhouse. He wrote that, “Entered this room on CH and it’s a married man saying that he’s cheating on his wife cause he’s not sexually compatible with her. Niggas saying these things boldy. Omo mehn.”

On Twitter and other platforms, you would think about what to write and how to couch it. Here, the lack of media training is apparent in almost&nbsp;everybody and humanity jumps out of everybody. The best part of the platform is that, despite having the atypical social media UI, complete with the follower count, it is built like a controlled forum.&nbsp;

Freedom of expression is also not a given on Clubhouse.&nbsp;

During the lockdown, virtual conversational and performance platforms grew in popularity and traction.&nbsp;

On the positive side, Clubhouse is built to promote smooth conversations, in line with the values of the creators of a chat room. There are moderators, speakers and there is the audience. Anybody who wants to contribute can raise their hands and they can be allowed to speak.&nbsp;

It's a step away from the noisy tendency of Twitter. But like Twitter, random members of the audience can always create sub-chat rooms to object to and discuss the problems with the original chat rooms.&nbsp;

By the time Russell Simmons became the first major victim of cancel culture on Clubhouse, the platform grew exponentially in reputation and acceptance. Amongst other things, therein lies the problem of a pattern repeating itself.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<h2>The growing toxicity: Repeated patterns&nbsp;</h2>

In 2018, Richard Grannon had an incredible conversation with Israeli author, Sam Vankin. Although Vankin had some extremist tendencies, a lot of his thoughts on the problem with social media are well-thought and backed by research.&nbsp;

First off, he sees social media as a ground for performance and that this performance is aided by the presence of an audience. For those with larger audiences, there is a human tendency for toxicity and bullying.

And for those with lower, smaller or inexistent audiences, there is a tendency for depression and well-hidden cases of insecurity. He also likened social media's provision of comments, likes and retweets to sex and other pleasurable things, to which people get addicted.&nbsp;

He argued that dopamine and serotonin are released whenever people get these likes, mentions and retweets and he had a point.&nbsp;

In 2020, Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter and Square had a conversation with Michael Babarro of New York Times Podcast, The Daily. <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9yc3MuYXJ0MTkuY29tL3RoZS1kYWlseQ/episode/Z2lkOi8vYXJ0MTktZXBpc29kZS1sb2NhdG9yL1YwL1BNSE5IVlBYY2hISzROS1NEdjFTQVdWclBjeXJzRHdjS2hiNVBVLTNtaVk?sa=X&amp;ved=0CAUQkfYCahgKEwionPewxInuAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQ0AE">During that episode</a>, Dorsey discussed the mistakes of Twitter as it relates to the display of likes, retweets and mentions count.&nbsp;

He also said that Twitter never intended for its platform to be used in that manner. He intimated that founders can create platforms for a specific purpose, but users will always find unique ways to use those platforms and he was right. The use of hashtags was a creation of people, to aggregate conversations.

Nonetheless, it seems Clubhouse has learned nothing from its predecessors’ mistakes.&nbsp;It might not have repeated some of those mistakes, but it looks to be creating problems of its own.&nbsp;

In place of the toxicity of dopamine from likes, retweets and mentions is dopamine and a sense of importance from Clubhouse's system of elitism.

<h2>Growing toxicity: Strategy vs. Reasons for concern&nbsp;</h2>

In the case of Clubhouse, it shows that while its founders and creators intended to limit the noise and commotion that’s peculiar to Twitter, users are finding their unique ways to use the platform. And guess what, it’s not pretty.&nbsp;

While conversations are more controlled, the platform is creating an aristocratic system where power is reserved for a visible few. In the same sad vein, the power to create the Clubs can only be given.&nbsp;

While that has its own powers, the controllers of clubs are excessively holding on to control in a growing platform. Like Kevin Systrom found out when Instagram was Burbn, you can't manage a growing entity with that level of control. Burbn was a mobile check-in app with a photo-sharing feature. It allowed users to share their nightly experiences via photos.&nbsp;

Systrom, then a recent former employee of Google would administer a lot of the platform remotely. On Clubhouse it’s not quite the same, but the bottom line is that creators of the platform still retain a lot of power over the platform. They then delegate some of that power to certain representatives who only hand that power to a few ‘aristocrats.’&nbsp;

While this could simply be the price for more controlled conversations and it’s a tactic that’s made Clubhouse more desirable, this ‘control’ mandate for growth has promoted elitis. By tapping into people with influence, handlers tasked with that growth have created ground for inequality and that energy has slowly seeped through the spirit of that platform.

The idea of only limiting the platform to iPhone users seems like a masterstroke. The platform also seems like it's in beta phase, and so is the idea that a person can only join on the premise of an invite.&nbsp;

These ideas create a desirable brand for the platform. They also promote the idea that the platform is built for ‘intellectual conversations..’ But the few early birds on the platform have grown to see themselves as worthy elites of a different class and therein lies the problem.&nbsp;

In his critique of Walter Lippman's theory on democracy, John Dewey notes that democracy is the most attainable system of government because it promotes involvement and inclusion.

The fact that people cannot merely register to join a platform is inherently problematic. It creates a system of desire that only a few can attain. It's also not very democratic and fills the powerful few with an overbloated sense of importance.

It sells the idea of a high brow Manhattan nightclub that requires a secret password.&nbsp;While that could simply be promo by perception, it creates a perception of a social class/social hierarchy - even amongst iPhone users.&nbsp;The result of that is autocratic aristocracy on a social platform.

Clubhouse might have looked to be an improvement on the failings of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, but it hasn’t. Several scientific theories have argued that the human mind sees an achievement in most uncommon/distant phenomena that requires an effort to attain.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Currently, the elitist/aristocratic structure of Clubhouse means that a lot of things are out of reach to most people. Psychologically, they will see those things as achievements and therein lies the problem.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<h2>Detriments to Clubhouse itself&nbsp;</h2>

Equally, you can't protect/control a social platform forever. It is detrimental to your growth - the larger and more accessible a platform is, the better for you to scale. There is a risk of mismanagement in open operation of a social platform, but there is greater risk in alienation and control.&nbsp;

If Clubhouse doesn't fix its alluring albeit problematic model, it will be severely threatened by die Twitter’s impending chat room feature called Spaces - especially if Twitter chooses to fix the ills of Clubhouse and makes the platform widely available.&nbsp;

What Clubhouse needs to ask itself is, 'Do we want to become Snapchat or do we want to be Tiktok?' Those business questions are not as pressing as the problems of elitism, aristocracy and classism that confronts the platform though.&nbsp;

Clubhouse has already made strides, but a model of alienation is also detrimental to its growth. This becomes even more pertinent when your major source of income will likely be advertising.&nbsp;

In <a href="https://www.arilewis.com/aris-posts/clubhouse">an article dated July 7, 2020</a>, Ari Lewis wrote that, "The problem with exclusivity is that it isn't scalable. Once everyone is using it, it loses its utility value. What tool is Clubhouse providing? As far as I see, none. But that can change.

"Clubhouse can become a white-label solution for content creators and influencers... Think of Clubhouse as OnlyFans for creators. OnlyFans is already doing it with adult performers. It's estimated the company will take home $150MM - $300MM in revenue this year."

Lewis also adds that, "Tools like Cameo, OnlyFans and Clubhouse (potentially), where influencers can interact with their fans. Not just follow an influencer’s life, but be a part of their life."

Apparently, <a href="https://www.ion.co/millennials-listen-social-media-creators-celebrities">70% of teenage YouTube subscribers</a> say they related to YouTube creators more than traditional celebrities and <a href="https://www.ion.co/millennials-listen-social-media-creators-celebrities">40% of millennials believe their favorite creators understand them better than their friends.</a>

Right now, the monetization model of the company remains unclear, but there are definitely different avenues to be explored.

One option is to make a section of Clubhouse premium/paid. The other is to insert audio/pictorial ads into other sections. They could make it possible that premium users won't hear the audio or see the pictorial ads.

Yet, the potential for that platform remains immense. If it adds a video feature, Clubhouse could also grow to become a great ground for e-events.

Clubhouse: An App creator’s intent vs. the vanity of human usage. (WIRED)

Clubhouse is a fantastic idea that's rapidly becoming a generation's answer to real-time conversations.

JoinClubhouse: Creator’s intent vs. the vanity of human usage [Pulse Editor’s Comment]

<h1>On September 18, 2020, Facebook announced that it will opening an office in Nigeria in H2 2021. The Lagos, Nigeria office would be the tech giant’s second African office. Facebook had been handling its African operations through its South African office, headed by Nunu Ntshingila-Njeke.&nbsp;</h1>

When the South African office launched in 2015, the key focus was on markets in Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria. Four years ago, CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg visited Nigeria and one of the places he visited was CCHub.&nbsp;

Since that time, Facebook has launched the NG_HUB with CCHub, to nurture African talent, provide a functional space for startups to collaborate and co-exist in symbiosis. It has also collaborated with companies like MainOne and MTN to build an internet infrastructure for Africa by laying cables and installing servers.&nbsp;

In May 2020, <a href="https://techpoint.africa/2020/05/15/facebook-internet-cable-africa/">Techpoint reported</a> about 2Africa, the $1 billion Facebook subsea project that aims to connect 16 African countries by 2024. With this, Facebook simply aims to further consolidate its interests in Africa and its such a perfect time.&nbsp;

In a chat with Oluwasola Obagbemi, Corporate Communications Manager for Anglophone West Africa at Facebook, Pulse Nigeria gathered that this move has been in the works for a minute.&nbsp;

She says, “The investment of the new Facebook office follows the 2018 opening of NG_Hub, our first flagship community hub space in Africa in partnership with CcHub, and the opening in 2019 of a Small Business Group (SBG) Operations Centre in Lagos, in partnership with Teleperformance.&nbsp;

“Naturally these things take time to set up, but we are excited about the possibilities that this will create, not just in Nigeria, but across Africa.”

While it is still some way off the 62.9% global benchmark, internet penetration in Africa now stands at a lofty 39.3% and Nigeria is a highly mobilized country - Facebook’s largest African market. Nigeria commands around 28 million of Facebook’s 131.2 million users on the continent.&nbsp;

Stats Counter also reports that based on usage between August 2019 and August 2020, 64.17% of the Nigerian population uses Facebook. Nonetheless, Facebook is banking on Nigeria, despite the potential of early recovery from the economic implications of COVID-19.&nbsp;

<h2>For perspective, why is Facebook coming to Nigeria?</h2>

Obagbemi says, “Opening our office in Nigeria reinforces our ongoing commitment to Africa and investment to the region. Five years on from opening our first office in Johannesburg, South Africa, this is the next natural step as we look to continue supporting the various communities we work with on the continent.

“Now is a better time than any. Africa, and specifically Nigeria presents new and exciting opportunities in digital innovations being developed from across the continent. All across Africa we’re seeing immense talent in the tech ecosystem, and we are proud that with this, we’ll be building for the future of Africa and beyond.

“We continue to remain committed to Africa, and our work and partnerships across the region.”

Obagbemi also says that this will also be the first office on the continent to house a team of expert engineers as part of Facebook’s New Product Experimentation team, who will be building for the future of Africa and beyond.&nbsp;

<h2>How could Nigerians benefit from this move?</h2>

On this, Obagbemi says that, “Nigeria is producing a new generation of start-ups that&nbsp;have incredible potential. We are invested in helping developers and content creators in Nigeria build for the next billion, and help take their content to Africa and the rest of the world.”

Nigeria can definitely expect a lot of Nigerian employees dependent on the candidate, the role and experience required.&nbsp;

<h2>How could content and entertainment benefit from this move?&nbsp;</h2>

COVID-19 blew a lot of things wide open in the tech world and everyday facets of life suddenly took on another level of importance. Amazon’s Twitch grew an influence in livestream and signed&nbsp;deals with distribution companies. TikTok and Triller then grew considerably in brand equity and user base.&nbsp;

But there might have been no bigger beneficiary from that occurrence than Facebook. First off, Instagram Live became a hotbed for performances and entertainment events. Things got so popular that Facebook had to intervene and regulate the use of intellectual property on Instagram Live events.&nbsp;

That tool in itself has added incredible bits of brand equity to Facebook. During the latest episode of Trapital, Dan Runcie and Cherie Hu discussed the rise of Facebook’s ability to monetize livestream.&nbsp;

In the same way, even though Variety reported in June 2019 that 140 million Facebook users spent at least one minute on Watch per day, and that watch had 720 million viewers per month.

However, Facebook Watch has not fully reached its full potential as regards brand equity. However, Instagram could really offer Facebook incredible leverage on the entertainment front.&nbsp;

Instagram Reels is directly integrated into every Instagram app. According to Stats Counter, 2.11% of the total Nigerian population uses Instagram.&nbsp;

Be that as it may, TikTok and Triller are not even close to those numbers and that offers Instagram Reels an incredible advantage due to the brand equity Instagram already possesses in Nigeria and across Africa. TikTok and Triller have been a huge hit with Gen Z crowds.&nbsp;

<a href="https://listenafrica.substack.com/p/the-global-obsession-with-short-form">Listen Africa newsletter</a> writes, “As reported by MRC, 52% of Gen Z between the ages of 13 and 23 used short-form video-sharing apps like TikTok and Triller. The biggest influencers on TikTok, for example are Charli D’Amelio, a 16-year-old with over 88 million followers and over 6.7 billion likes, and 19-year-old Bella Poarch has 25.3 million fans.&nbsp;

“Then in the music industry, MRC reports that 48% of the Gen Z of TikTok are mostly interested in music-inclined content. K-pop groups BTS and Blackpink have over 20.1 million and 17.8 million followers respectively on TikTok. The platform had also created No. hits, ‘The Box’ for Roddy Ricch, ‘Old Town Road’ by Lil Nas X, ‘Savage’ for Megan Thee Stallion and ‘Toosie Slide’ for Drake.”

Already, TikTok and Triller are already growing a reputation as incredible tools for marketing in music. Instagram Reels could be a more potent tool for music marketing, but it has to be marketed properly to the Nigerian entertainment industry, as a tool that is beyond funny videos.&nbsp;

Instagram Reels could also really impact Nollywood as regards movie trailers and blockbuster snippets. But again, the marketing has to be right.&nbsp;

More so, YouTube already launched YouTube Shorts and the product is already being tested in India.&nbsp;

Interestingly, <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/beyonce-shows-facebook-can-make-make-more-money-off-the-music-industry-with-instagram/l256lx2">IGTV boasts a unique monetization opportunity </a>for Facebook and Pulse Nigeria examined that some weeks ago. With Beyonce’s label, Parkwood Entertainment already launching music videos on IGTV, Facebook could really do provide competition for rivals.&nbsp;

Speaking on Facebook’s mission, Obagbemi says, “Facebook's mission is clear: To give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. Our mission in Nigeria is no different - we understand the importance of being local in a global world - and want to have a long-term impact.&nbsp;

“Our new office in Nigeria presents an important milestone which further reinforces our ongoing commitment to the region.&nbsp;

“With the new office in Lagos, we will be helping to expand how we service our clients across the continent as well as continuing to invest in and support local talent, and the various communities that use our platforms.”

With the imminent entry of Spotify into the Nigerian market, the podcast market could really be upstaged. Already, Nigeria saw <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/tidal-partners-with-mtn-nigeria-for-streaming-service/e4y2f88">the entrance of TIDAL</a> into its market in third quarter 2020 as a partnership with MTN.&nbsp;

But Facebook has a unique opportunity to make podcast recording and distribution easy and straightforward in a way that could benefit the economic realities of Africa.&nbsp;

All that has to happen is to capitalize on the voice message feature of WhatsApp and WhatsApp messaging. Amazon and Apple have also made great inroads in the podcast market.

The tech giant will open a Nigerian office in H2 2021.

What does a Nigerian office mean for Facebook?

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<h1>On October 22, 2020, tech giant, Facebook - which also owns Instagram - apologized to Nigerians for wrongly flagging pictures of a bloodied Nigerian flag as "false." </h1>

Anytime people would post that picture, a Facebook prompt would read, "“The same false information was reviewed in another post by fact-checkers. There may be small differences. Independent fact-checkers say this information has no basis in fact.”

Facebook based its fact-check on a CNN News Chyron from Don Lemon's show, which made a lot of Americans believe that the deadly virus, SARS was killing Nigerians, rather than the Special Anti-Robbery Squad. This happens because Check Your Fact, which handles some of Facebook's fact-check endeavours was involved.

<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Instagram apologizes for incorrectly flagging <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ENDSARS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ENDSARS</a> posts on their platform as fake news <a href="https://t.co/WlDnSw4WJ8">pic.twitter.com/WlDnSw4WJ8</a>&mdash; Pulse Nigeria (@PulseNigeria247) <a href="https://twitter.com/PulseNigeria247/status/1319332322328612865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Due to this, Facebook had to issue an apology. A representative of the company also told Tech Cabal that, "We are aware that Facebook’s automated systems were incorrectly flagging content in support of #EndSARS, and for this we are deeply sorry. This issue has since been resolved, and we apologize for letting down our community in such a time of need."

This comes on the back of the global cause to stem the spread of Fake News. A few days ago, Pulse Nigeria reported <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/business/twitter-now-battles-fake-news-by-controlling-retweets/ngc8zjf">Twitter's approach to fake news</a>. The World Health Organization has also partnered with Wikipedia to stem the spread of COVID-19-related fake news.

This comes on the back of the global cause to stem the spread of Fake News. A few days ago, Pulse Nigeria reported <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/business/twitter-now-battles-fake-news-by-controlling-retweets/ngc8zjf">Twitter's approach to fake news</a>.

Why did Facebook apologize to Nigerians?

<h1>Beyonce's Parkwood Entertainment has been doing something interesting and other artists should into it; Music video releases on IGTV. They guarantee greater impact over a shorter period. </h1>

First off, it's a smart move and it shows how Beyonce has mastered the power of content distribution. Some months ago, Dan Runcie of Trapital had a <a href="https://trapital.co/2019/04/18/beyonces-streaming-strategy-explained/">conversation with Beyonce's dad</a>, Matthew Knowles about Beyonce's streaming strategy. The idea was that Beyonce divided her fan base into three silos; stans, fans and non-fans. This then informs whether her content goes on Netflix, Disney+, Instagram or YouTube.

These days, Parkwood has been giving joy to Instagram's long form video feature, IGTV. First, they did it with Chloe and Halle's 'Baby Girl' viral video and now, with 'Already' video with Shatta Wale.

In three hours, Beyonce's 'Already' video with Shatta Wale has over 3.2 million views. In the period on YouTube, it has about 470k.

YouTube pays artists for videos, but Instagram doesn't at this time. As a matter of fact, Facebook had to move fast during lockdown Instagram Live events, to avoid issues from record labels and publishing companies as well as copyright strikes. It reduced the time for song plays to 59 seconds.

But then, the potential of that company if it focuses on media, content and entertainment is amazing. First, it owns social media and its reach will be limitless - Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Second, for third world countries like Nigeria, data is a big issue and IGTV will probably consume less data for a music video than YouTube.

Third, Facebook already has incredible reach and penetration with WhatsApp and it should look to do something with podcasting on WhatsApp. It will solve the problems of data if podcasts are presented in voicenote formats.

Facebook - as a company - has been shortchanging itself over the past few years. With Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, it has a unique power to influence media, content, entertainment like no other, but hasn't cashed in.

All Facebook needs to do with Instagram is create content partnership with artists, labels and rights owners. Artists release their videos on IGTV, Facebook can create in-video ads like Spotify's SAI - charge ad fees based on per second visibility. Facebook can then generate revenue and pay artists a cut of those ads.

Artists get paid. Artists have greater number and traction on Instagram/IGTV platform. Facebook/Instagram benefits from it. Advertisers get visibility and what they paid for. Everyone is happy/everybody gets paid.

Facebook already has antitrust problems with the US government. However, this will help artists generate funding like other.

These days, Parkwood has been giving joy to Instagram's long form video feature, IGTV.

Beyonce shows Facebook can make make more money off the music industry with Instagram [Opinion]

<h1>Social media is both a blessing and a curse. As good information circles at the speed of light, so does fake news. Over the past five years, Facebook and its subsidiary, WhatsApp have battled the scourge of fake news. Nigerians basically wake up to broadcasts of conjectures and anti-competition fake news.</h1>

During the just concluded 2019 Presidential Elections, the Nigerian media was a daily bed of fake news. At this time, WhatsApp has even taken to radio for jingles on how to battle fake news. Due to the events surrounding the 2016 American Presidential Elections and the problem of Facebook’s reach, there has been increased pressure on Facebook to actually root out fake news.

In the Nigerian case, we have heard about terrible Universities and lecturers. In fact, on so many instances, with the very terrible reputation of Nigerian public universities and Lecturers over their likeness for making good grades hard for students, we have seen some crazy questions fly across the internet. They purport to showcase the dark realities of Nigerian public universities.

On Saturday, March 2, 2019, the snapshot of supposed question, allegedly from the Department of Political Science, University of Ilorin, Kwara State started circling the internet. The questions were supposedly for a course, ‘POS 425’ for the final year students of the same department. The course is allegedly titled, ‘Electoral Process,’ and the questions were worded like a hoax.

ALSO READ: <a id="a75c6591-1e2b-4861-9093-026d29047746" href="https://www.pulse.ng/news/politics/apc-pdp-accord-npm-and-the-funniest-logos-of-nigerian-political-parties/f8pnqj8">The weird logos of Nigerian political parties</a>

On the paper, these were three questions;

1.      Mention the names of the 71 candidates in the 2019 Nigeria’s (sic) Presidential elections.

2.      Mention the names of the 71 political parties that contested in the 2019 Nigeria’s Presidential elections.

3.      Mention the names of the chairmen of the 71 political parties that contested the 2019 Nigeria’s Presidential election.

<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Wait what? 😳 <a href="https://t.co/94W4n730Rl">pic.twitter.com/94W4n730Rl</a>&mdash; President Christian (@Chrisblin) <a href="https://twitter.com/Chrisblin/status/1101452705350995969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2019</a></blockquote>
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The lecturer-in-charge was supposedly Dr. J.O Olaniyi. The questions were simply impossible and they seemed callous. When the news became public knowledge on Twitter, it caused massive outrage and people were voicing their displeasure at the supposed questions.

<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Punishment, trust me some political parties don’t know the name of their chairman.&mdash; SusanNK (@SusanNkkk) <a href="https://twitter.com/SusanNkkk/status/1101470695597490176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2019</a></blockquote>
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In the thick of it, Pulse decided to do some digging to determine if the questions were real or fake.

Findings from two sources revealed the questions as fake, but those sources were not compelling enough. One of those less compelling sources said the questions circling the internet had leaked a day to the examination, and those questions were changed for the actual exams.

The most compelling chat was with Ganiyat Olowoyo, a final year student of Mass Communication at the University of Ilorin and the Vice-President of the Union of Campus Journalists.

Olowoyo tells Pulse that, “The questions are fake. At the time the supposed questions started circling the internet, I spoke with a source and she confirmed that they the exams hadn’t even been written yet.”

When Pulse asked her what the questions were then about, Olowoyo said, “According to my sources, the question started off as a joke from students who were simply highlighting their worst nightmare. Somehow, they printed the paper and it found its way onto the internet.”

As news concerning this breaks further, Pulse will report them.

Sources confirm that the questions allegedly from the Department of Political Science of the same University are fake.

Alleged UNILORIN questions circling the internet are fake

<h1>On Saturday, February 23, 2019, the Nigerian Presidential and National Assembly elections held across Nigeria. Votes were cast, civic duties were fulfilled, people walked during a curfew, business thrived in VGC, Tiwa Savage slayed voting, stupidity led to the loss of lives, and fake news filled our stomachs with the lies of a mess.</h1>

It was a true election day; the fires of news turned to ash in the face of consumption. We lived it again, as some bemoaned the ‘good man’ that erstwhile Nigerian President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was – whatever that means. To all these happenings, there was a constant, aided by the infinity of internet and electricity – if your EDC decided to not be Baba Sala.

<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Peaceful election VGC Lagos Island <a href="https://t.co/RFlKWGnC7Y">pic.twitter.com/RFlKWGnC7Y</a>&mdash; Tunde-Olutayo Ayodele (@Iamdonaypuffy3) <a href="https://twitter.com/Iamdonaypuffy3/status/1099437078813855747?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">🇳🇬🙏🏼 <a href="https://t.co/ZvV5YkYrE5">pic.twitter.com/ZvV5YkYrE5</a>&mdash; Tiwa Savage ⚔️ (@TiwaSavage) <a href="https://twitter.com/TiwaSavage/status/1099273924171522048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Social media – especially Twitter ­– and to a lesser extent, Facebook served you the cuisine of news like a romantic partner; in the comfort of your bed and sometimes made you the judge of distilling authe news from the very fake news circulating the cyberspace.

While social media aided the circulation of news, one sometimes had to intellectually distill truth from bad. It was so bad that authentic news was passed off by yours truly because they seemed too authoritative in thick of sensitivity.

Social media, as the platform of election day-news, could not be trusted because propaganda constantly cohabits with truth online, thus mans had to stay en guarde. It was hard, it was tough – a spectator also had to assume the role of a judge and distillery to not become a propaganda machine by himself.

<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Kindly disregard any &quot;RESULT&quot; you see on Social Media platforms. INEC is the only constitutional body empowered to declare the outcome of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NigeriaDecides2019?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NigeriaDecides2019</a> election results. Please be guided!&mdash; INEC Nigeria (@inecnigeria) <a href="https://twitter.com/inecnigeria/status/1099769927936999425?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Heavy hitters like Google and Facebook, which play a key role in promoting news to the larger public continue to play that key role in shelving fake news, it has gotten increasingly high as modes of verification are harder than believing Jussie Smollett.

The bias of political affiliations took on a showcase as spectators looked on, while being unable to tell fact from lies. While a simple charge to ‘do better’ would be the go-to-guy in these situations, it is a cliche we have employed many-a-time only to see even <a id="08d9d120-e076-4209-9e96-1f0f8f1bece6" href="https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/pulse-list-2018-5-people-we-got-tired-of-this-year-nigeria/27vks30">men in high places</a> become propaganda machines for cheap politicking.

Chief Femi Fani-Kayode was a key vehicle that pushed the 'Jubril Al Sudaini' narrative.

It is a good watch for the average Nigerian in-the-know; for him to shake his head at the aggressive onslaught of politically inclined individuals to sway voters by hook or by crook. But for the average Nigerian without the ability to tell the difference, he feeds his gang at the newspaper stand a wad of lies he copped of social media.

This continues to harm truth in our country; the definition of truth continues to be warped, catering to the bias of spectators who take and believe their version of truth, sometimes at the expense of actual truth. The resulting harm this does is that people defend lies even with more lies.

The risk is not borne by the informed Nigerians, but by the millions of uninformed Nigerians. They then argue the actual truth when it comes along. In moments like this, one envies the Chinese principle that controls what circulates on the internet and even in media. Things like this are either too reduced a reality to happen or simply extinct as a matter of practice.

What we currently experience in Nigeria is a product of expression of Fundamental Rights - we can never call that a luxury, but what happens when we continue to abuse our freedom at the expense of what a nation deems overwhelming truth for our selfish ends? The power of collective responsibility guaranteed by the Constitution continually gets abused.

Do we not deserve these rights?

We actually deserve our rights. In fact, Fundamental Human Rights should simply be granted - it’s not a conversation of deserving or not deserving it. The right to express freely is God-given and natural.

All things are definitely prone to abuse, but when these rights are being abused for cheap lies and questionable ends, we have to draw a line.

Should the internet then be limited?

A while back, there were rumours that the freedom of Nigerians to express was going to be somehow limited by the government of the day and we rightly kicked up a fuss. After all, we do not live in communism.

With the way we’re going, one fears that we might soon exhaust our bandwidth of freedom of expression, but to every concept comes a disadvantage and this; what we currently witness with fake news on the internet is the downside of freedom of electronic expression.

While this downside is quite unsavoury, we must live with it and sleep with it. A limitation on our rights to express will be a problem long term as a people. What we must do now is again listen to the cliche - let us all be responsible with what we express as 'fact' on social media.

But that, my folks, is a long shot. The re are no guarantees that this charge will work.

African Union Election Observation Mission observes opening, closing of polls and counting of votes in Nigerian Elections

We saw social media play machine for propagandists and fake news maestros on Election day - it's tiring, but a limitation on our freedom to express will do greater harm long-term.

Social media: A two-edged sword during the Nigerian election

<h1>Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey is usually laid back on Twitter while users throw lighthearted banter at his Twitter account @Jack.</h1>

But in the wake of manipulation and the constant criticism of Facebook for its slack ways to combat fake news, gun control, explicit content, and the infamous Cambridge Analytica case and invasion of privacy it occasioned by abusing user privacy, other social networks have become more concerted in their efforts not to fall victim.

In the second half of last year, Twitter suspended a lot of Nigerian influencer accounts and even ordinary accounts they felt could be bots. They also suspended some accounts for piracy, fake news, content theft, spamming and hate speech/revenge porn.

While some accounts were unlocked between 24 hours to months later, an account like Nigerian entrepreneur’s, Linda Ikeji's remains suspended.

Bots are basically a manipulation of technology to create multiple accounts that belong to and are managed by either tech networks or human beings managing a number of fake accounts.

These accounts are usually created for concentrated efforts to increase followers at an astronomical rate so people could become influencers or to fuel certain conversations - usually hashtags.

A mechanism that Twitter uses to fish out robots. (Twitter)

These things con the system and flood it with unwanted content. While they were once overlooked, there is now an increased concentration on Twitter to flush them out. One of those mechanisms was the very frustrating, “Are you a robot?” process that became unpopular in 2018.

12 Nigerian influencers get suspended by Twitter

Bhadmus Hakeem AKA Bhadoosky, one of the 'influencers' who got their Twitter accounts suspended.. (TSB)

Earlier today, news broke that Nigerian Twitter influencers; Badmus Hakeem (Tweets @Bhadoosky), Jokunle (@Jokunle), Ani Nomso (@ani_nomso), Shawnife (@Shawnife_), Official Bmax (@OfficialBmax), Uche Kush (@UcheKush_), Lazy Writa (@LazyWrita), Rouvafe (@Rouvafe), Abdulaxis (@iam_abdulaxis), Switchme, Enekem Greg (@EnekemGreg) got suspended for unknown reasons as Twitter has released no statement.

While Pulse spoke with former tech influencer and Nigerian writer with Concaholic, he thinks, “Most of them are my guys and the only acceptable reason for this (suspension) will be if they stole other people's content, which I don't think any of them did or maybe they did, and I'm not aware. But I don't think they did. Bhadoosky was even verified. This is a serious crackdown.”

Twitter users have, however, been bubbling with theories like content theft or bot activity for the suspension.

But with the suspensions so close to the Presidential elections and the promotion of viral hashtags like #RestInPeaceAPC, #AtikuMyVal, #RejectBuhari, #AtikuIsBetter that made top 10 Nigerian trending topics on different days, the election-charged hashtag theory seems plausible.

Speculatively, that might have been deemed unfair advantage or exploitation of Twitter, especially with how sensitive the Nigerian Presidential elections of 2019 looks set to be.

In some ways, the promotion of these hashtags might have involved bots and could have been deemed spamming. Some have regarded Twitter NG to be the largest African market Twitter commands, so risking that market for influencers might have been too big a risk, so the influencers got cut.

Usually, some suspended accounts get reactivated within 24 hours. Sometimes though, reactivation takes months to never.

Who are influencers?

Ordinarily, they are basically social media users with high following who charge money to change brand opinions - not to be confused with ‘Digital marketers’ who drive traffic to certain phenomena.

Thus, while you can be both an influencer and a digital marketer, most of the Nigerians we call influencers are actually digital marketers.

Mayowa George, a former influencer and writer who spoke to Pulse. (Twitter/Wana____)

While speaking to Pulse, Mayowa George said, “In fairness, many of those on this list are digital marketers, not influencers. What they do is create general awareness through trends. An influencer changes brand opinion among customers. To be an influencer, you must have a niche or market where your opinion is respected in.

“I used to review mobile phones back in the day. I'd review and recommend to people based on their budgets. Did a couple stuff for Samsung, Lenovo, Tecno and others. People would message asking about a device and I'd say "yeah, I've tried it. This is wrong but this is great with it. If you can afford it, you should.

“People like Knewkeed and Fisayo Fosudo are leaders in that market. In beauty, you have people like Deola (OmogeMura). For cooking/lifestyle, maybe SisiYemmie. These are influencers. If you look at the list you sent me now, you probably can't pinpoint the markets these people can influence.”

In Nigeria though, we have conflated the two to mean the same thing, so ‘influencer’ is now a colloquial umbrella term for people in the digital marketing/influencer space.

If it was discovered that the election issues caused the suspension, were the Nigerian influencers wrong?

Ordinarily, social media and the internet will always be veritable and potent tools during elections, and somehow, they will be used to push agendas. However, what matters is how you use social media. If it is for information dissemination or promotion, social media will be a reasonable tool.

But when it comes to propaganda machinations, smear campaigns by digital marketers/influencers, that might mean an abuse of these platforms, especially when these propaganda become trending topics and reach higher on a list of trending topics like some hashtags - RestInPeaceAPC or RejectBuhari seem to have done over the past 48 hours, there might be a problem.

Mayowa George, however, has a different opinion. He says, “Twitter has the least daily users of the major social networks, surprisingly even lesser than Snapchat, and I don't think they should be booting people out without reason.particularly people with hundreds of thousands of followers like this.”

At this time though, Twitter is awash with comments on these suspensions.

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