THE Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO) has raised the alarm over what it described as growing threats to Nigeria’s social cohesion, national security and democratic governance posed by unregulated global digital gatekeepers.
In a statement sent to News Point Nigeria on Tuesday, the umbrella body of Nigeria’s media industry warned that algorithms controlled outside the country are increasingly shaping public discourse, manipulating narratives and weakening professional journalism, with far-reaching consequences for national stability.
The NPO comprises major media stakeholders, including the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GCOP).
The statement was jointly signed by the presidents of the constituent bodies: Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru (NPAN), Mr Eze Anaba (NGE), Salihu Dembos (BON), Mr Danlami Nmodu (GCOP) and Mr Alhassan Yahaya (NUJ).
According to the organisation, the rapid expansion of global digital platforms has fundamentally altered Nigeria’s information environment, creating what it described as a dangerous structural imbalance of power.
“The rapid rise of global digital platforms has fundamentally altered Nigeria’s information environment,” the statement read.
“While these platforms have expanded access and innovation, they have also created a structural imbalance of power that now threatens the sustainability of professional journalism – the backbone of informed citizenship and accountable governance.”
The NPO warned that global technology platforms now dominate digital advertising markets in Nigeria, while algorithms designed and controlled abroad determine what information Nigerians see, amplify or ignore.
It noted that Nigerian news content is widely monetised on these platforms without fair compensation or proportionate reinvestment in local journalism.
“Revenue that once sustained domestic newsrooms is increasingly extracted offshore,” the organisation stated.
“This is not a conventional market disruption. It is the emergence of private, transnational gatekeepers over public discourse, operating beyond the effective reach of national democratic accountability.”
The media body cautioned that allowing digitally manipulated narratives to continue unchecked would exacerbate misinformation and disinformation, deepen polarisation and fuel insecurity across the country.
“In a multi-ethnic, multi-religious federation, credible journalism plays a stabilising role,” the statement said.
“When trusted news institutions weaken, misinformation, disinformation and digitally manipulated narratives expand unchecked, fuelling polarisation, grievance mobilisation and insecurity.”
The NPO stressed that no security or intelligence architecture could fully compensate for the collapse of a credible information ecosystem.
“No counterterrorism, policing or intelligence framework can fully compensate for a collapsed information order,” it warned.
It further argued that democratic processes such as elections, public accountability and citizen participation depend on reliable, professionally produced information.
“When professional journalism is displaced by algorithmic virality, democratic processes become vulnerable to distortion, foreign influence and coordinated falsehoods,” the organisation said.
The NPO urged the Federal Government to recognise professional journalism not merely as a commercial activity but as critical national infrastructure, comparable to education, public health and the judiciary.
“Professional journalism is strategic civic infrastructure,” it stated.
“Its outputs – verified facts, investigative scrutiny and balanced reporting – are public goods. Yet the current digital market structure allows global platforms to extract disproportionate value from this public good while weakening its producers.”
The organisation warned that the Nigerian state could no longer afford neutrality or inaction in protecting the country’s information ecosystem.
“Leading democracies facing similar challenges have concluded that non-intervention is no longer a neutral option,” the statement said, citing regulatory interventions in the European Union and the United Kingdom to curb the dominance of digital gatekeepers.
The NPO called on regulatory bodies such as the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) to actively address market distortions and sanction practices that undermine national cohesion.
As a way forward, it urged the Presidency and the National Assembly to act through existing digital legislation or targeted amendments to correct extreme bargaining power imbalances, ensure fair remuneration for Nigerian news content and protect innovation, competition and consumer choice.
“This appeal is not a request for protectionism,” the organisation clarified.
“It is a call for strategic leadership to ensure that Nigeria’s democratic conversation is not quietly outsourced to opaque commercial algorithms beyond national control.”
The NPO warned that the cost of inaction would extend far beyond the media industry.
“The cost of inaction will not be borne solely by publishers, broadcasters or journalists,” it said.
“It will be paid in weakened institutions, diminished public trust, rising misinformation and a more fragile national cohesion.”
The organisation reaffirmed its readiness to collaborate with government institutions, regulators, civil society and technology companies to design what it described as a fair and forward-looking Nigerian solution.
“Protecting the Nigerian press is not an industry rescue,” the statement concluded. “It is an investment in national stability, democratic durability and Nigeria’s standing as a serious constitutional democracy.”