ABSTRACT
The world has become a global village as many organisations and individuals disseminate and receive information through the social media and most times the information disseminated or received is falsified and manipulated due to the unregulated nature of social media which makes it free and accessible to all. In an attempt to prevent a situation such as this, a senator in the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Sani Musa sponsored a bill titled “Protection from Internet Falsehoods and Manipulations Bill 2019”. The bill has received many criticisms from Nigerian citizens, journalists and other stakeholders who believe there is a hidden agenda to the initiation of the bill. Many Nigerian citizens who are against the bill have small or no knowledge and understanding of the bill. Therefore, they depend on the fourth estate of the realm of government one of which is the print media, for information and education on the bill. To this effect, this research study sought to examine and analyse The Punch Newspaper coverage of the Protection from Internet Falsehoods and Manipulations Bill 2019. Other objectives are to study The Punch Newspaper direction of coverage, the prominence of coverage, the magnitude of coverage, the news items used in coverage, the framing of coverage and the issues raised in coverage of the social media regulation bill with the use of content analysis research method and public sphere, authoritarian and agenda setting theories. The findings revealed that The Punch Newspaper framing of the Protection from Internet Falsehoods and Manipulations Bill 2019 was authoritarian framing as their coverage of the social media regulation bill was unfavourable, with a very low prominence and small magnitude. The news items used are news story, editorial, feature and opinion and the issues raised in their coverage of the social media regulation bill are threat to democracy, fake news, suppress opposition parties, silence critics or gag the press, national security, peace and stability, bill present in existing laws, and transparency and accountability. Also, the research revealed that social media is an important and effective tool in a democratic society through which members of the society can hold the government of the society accountable for their actions as the platforms serve as a voice of the public and tool through which they can share their opinions on any political issue. However, with the potency of social media and its general accessibility, the social media should not continue to exist without any form of gatekeeping as it can become a deadly nuclear weapon in the hands of the wrong persons. Therefore, it is recommended that the Federal Government should consult and seek the opinions of the general public, media organisations (both conventional and social media) and other stakeholders on how false and manipulated information can be regulated on social media without stifling freedom of expression and press freedom and ensure that there is transparency in all political affairs at the federal, state and local levels of government as proper management of information and accountability from the government will eliminate or at least reduce false and manipulated information on social media.
