CLAIM: On April 8, 2020, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) spotted a screenshot of a news headline claiming that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had spent One billion Naira on SMS sent to Nigerians as part of its enlightenment program on Coronavirus.
The Headline read ‘’ Breaking: We have Spent 1b naira on SMS just to educate Nigerians – NCDC” trended on microblogging site, Twitter and Facebook.
FACT: Our findings show that the screenshot is from a fake news site, Reporters Press NG, which thrives on clickbait. The site was created on February 8,
CONCLUSION: NCDC never spent N1 billion on SMS to educate Nigerians as claimed by the screenshot circulating on the Internet. According to the Centre, SMS is part of the contribution of the three major mobile network providers in Nigeria. CDD is urging members of the public to verify every information before sharing especially relating to COVID-19.