Rise Networks, a data science and AI company, unveiled the “Run-Am” mobile app on Friday in Abuja in an effort to thwart the spread of false information during the electioneering period.
The platform, which is available on Google Play Store, is a tool that will ensure accuracy and accountability of information during the elections of 2023 and beyond, according to Mrs. Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji, founder of Rise Networks.
She claimed that the MacArthur Foundation and the Center for Information, Technology, and Development supported the project (CITAD).
She claims that the app has features for news verification, image verification, and voter education to check for false information that could lead to violence during elections.
“During elections, fake news is used to create a lot of voter apathy, so you see a lot of news like 50 people have been killed in a particular local government.
“And because of that, people who have their PVCs will not want to come out to vote because they are afraid.
“But when you find out, you will see that that information is not true but when voters do not turn up, that is when it will be easy for them to rig the elections.
“And those are the kinds of problems that the Run-Am App aims to solve,” she explained.
She also stated that the organization was working to ensure that the App is available in our local languages and pidgin English for the benefit of all Nigerians.
Mr Victor Aluko, Director, Voter Education and Publicity, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), praised the company for its efforts to combat fake news that threatens the country’s electoral processes.
“We are going into a serious elections which will be contested by powerful individuals and political parties and you will see a situation where the electoral process will be pulled in various directions.
We are examining how to manage our results to ensure that people don’t misinform Nigerians. “When we have that, you will see a lot of combinations of fake news, misinformation, and disinformation.
We tend to identify with them and express our happiness that this is coming from a Nigerian organization when we have this type of App from reputable organizations like this, he said.
Dayo Olaide, the Deputy Country Director for the MacArthur Foundation’s Africa Office, added that threats to democracy have persisted on a global scale.
He went on to say that in order to save the country’s democracy, Nigerians must start paying more attention to electoral accountability and call out those who make inflammatory statements and spread fake news.
“As we launch the App today, we will need our citizens that to go beyond exposing those misinformation but begin to demand that those who are driving this type of attack against our democracy are brought to book.
“That is not only INEC’s responsibility; it is a shared responsibility; the government, citizens, and the media must hold all actors accountable for their actions,” he added.
