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From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Ahead of the 2023 polls, an App known as ‘Run Am’ has been launched by a tech firm, RiseNetworks, to detect and counter misinformation.
While presenting the ‘Run Am’ yesterday in Abuja, the Founder of Risenetworks, Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji, said the idea of the app stemmed from voter apathy, fear and insecurity orchestrated by fake news engineered by politicians to have their way.
Akerele-Ogunsiji said: “’Run Am’ App has special features that tackle the menace of disinformation, misinformation, fake news, and hate speech. It will simplify seemingly difficult tasks of verifying information.
“For us at Risenetworks, it was really how do we stop talking about the issues, and how do we solve the problem?
“You know, using the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, like data science, data analysis, artificial intelligence, machine learning, because what we have done is to put everything that human beings are suppose to sit in 100-man-call centre; what we have done is to compress everything into one simple mobile application that should help you.
“So, instead of you to call your friend to say, ‘Abubakar is it true that this has happened in Kotangora, or are you in Michika in Adamawa?’
“Or are you in Goza in Borno or are you in Ijebu Ode or Abeokuta in Ogun State or are you in Osun , or you Oshodi in Lagos or in Kano, in Kwara, or you are in Ihiala, somewhere in the East or in Afikpo in Ebonyi State?
“You see, all you need to do is to pick up the “Runner mobile app” and run your question.
“And what we have also tried to do is to take compiled data from across to all of your work for media organisations, from the Nation to Punch, the Guardian, to the Sun to ThisDay to ICIR and Premium Times.”
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), MacArthur Foundation, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) and Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) have backed the innovation.
INEC Victor Ayodele Aluka said: “I will start by expressing our gratitude to the organisation, Risenetworks for developing an app that can help us combat fake news; that can help us combat disinformation and misinformation.
“We are going into very (a) serious election. It is a very serious election that will be contested seriously by very powerful parties and individuals more than any time in the history of our country.
“We are going into a very serious election. There will be a combination of fake news, a lot of misinformation and a lot of disinformation.
“We are looking at how we are going to manage our results to make sure that people don’t misinform Nigerians.
“So when we have this type of app from a reputable organisation like Risenetworks, we tend to identify with them and to also express our happiness that this is a Nigerian organisation that is doing this, and of course for the development of our own country and to say thank you. I also look forward to future collaborations with the organisation.”
On his party, the Deputy Country Director, MacArthur Foundation, Africa Office, Dayo Olaide, tasked the Federal Government to show more commitment to strengthening the electoral process.
Olaide said: “The government must show more intentionality in holding those responsible for hate speech and disinformation to account.
“I think the media has a significant role to play as well to demand accountability. Civil society groups, I think have probably been more frontal in actually calling out these actors who will need the public to also line up behind you.”
