Dr Agnes S. Ojile
Abstract
This paper investigated misinformation and mythical beliefs about COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. Some of the major misconceptions about COVID-19 pandemic include that the disease is a myth and fictitious, Nigerian masses are immune to the disease, it is meant for the elites and that the disease is just a means to loot public funds by Nigerian government. It was also discovered from the review of literature that this mis-information is largely spread on social media by bloggers in quest of traffic to the blogs and political entities who want to manipulate the news of the pandemic for their personal political gains. Based on the review by this paper, it was recommended among others that to rapidly and effectively counter disinformation and misinformation, the Nigerian government must engage in a sustained two-way communication with its citizens. It must consistently and transparently provide information that responds to people’s concerns. Also, civil society groups can also be leveraged by government bodies like the National Orientation Agency to ensure that correct information is shared widely in the public domain and that false news is quickly countered.