Army Chief Wants Media To Counter Terrorists’ Propaganda

Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Olufemi Oluyede, has declared that liable media reportage volition heighten troops’ operational successes against insurgents.

This, helium said, is by countering terrorists’ propaganda and misinformation strategy successful their effort to disturb the bid of the nation.

The COAS stated this successful Abuja yesterday astatine the opening of the Directorate of Army Public Relations’ Combined Third and Fourth Quarters Media Training Seminar, which had the taxable “Enhancing Responsible Media Reportage of Nigerian Army Operations successful a Joint and Multi-Agency Environment for Enhanced National Security.”

Gen. Oluyede, who was represented by the commandant of the Nigerian Army Cyber Warfare Command, Major General Mohammed Abdullahi, said the seminar underscored the captious relation of accountability, balance, and work successful the reportage of subject operations — peculiarly successful a associated situation wherever collaboration among information agencies is indispensable.

He said, “In an epoch wherever the conflict for hearts and minds is arsenic captious arsenic the conflict successful the field, liable media reportage has go a cardinal enabler of operational success. The cognition of the Nigerian Army, and so of each information agencies, is mostly shaped by the narratives carried successful the media space.”

He said with the emergence of integer technologies and artificial intelligence, the velocity and scope of genuine and mendacious accusation person multiplied.

The service main noted that fake news, manipulated images, and deepfakes present airs existent threats to nationalist cohesion and operational integrity.

“Therefore, our corporate task is not lone to antagonistic misinformation but to guarantee that information and verified facts predominate nationalist discourse,” helium added.

He reiterated that the Nigerian Army volition proceed to transportation retired its law work of defending the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“However, we indispensable recognise that triumph contiguous is not won solely connected the battlefield. Increasingly, it is fought successful the accusation domain — wherever narratives, perceptions, and nationalist assurance are decisive.

In her invited remarks, the acting manager of Army Public Relations, Lt-Col Appolonia Anele, said the gathering was aimed astatine shaping narratives, mobilising nationalist support, countering misinformation and yet influencing the occurrence of operations undertaken by the information agencies.

“It is simply a telephone to enactment for each stakeholders successful the accusation abstraction to deliberate and brainstorm connected the dynamics of the evolving media space. It is besides an avenue to bespeak connected the increasing request for accurate, liable and strategical reportage of the Nigerian Army operations to deepen the synergy betwixt the Nigerian Army and the media successful the corporate pursuit of nationalist security,” she said.

She said today’s media is not a bystander but a strategical spouse successful securing the nation.