The atmosphere in Edo State took a distressing turn this past Thursday as a wave of artificial panic swept through communities, triggered by a viral video that claimed bandits were actively kidnapping schoolchildren. The misinformation spread with terrifying speed, causing an immediate, visceral reaction across the state. In a scene of sheer desperation, parents and guardians rushed to school gates in a frantic scramble to retrieve their children, while local businesses shuttered their doors and commuters fled the streets, all driven by the fear that their loved ones were in immediate danger. For several hours, the state existed in a…

In an era defined by an endless stream of digital information, we are frequently confronted with bizarre claims regarding everything from climate change and vaccines to nutrition and migration. Our natural impulse is often to step in immediately, armed with dry facts and a sense of moral urgency, desperate to debunk the nonsense. However, Anne-Floor Schölvinck, a dedicated researcher at the Rathenau Instituut, suggests that this instinct to “shout down” misinformation is often counterproductive. In her insightful report, Wikken en weten, she urges a shift in strategy: instead of treating misinformation as an enemy to be defeated with alarmist headlines,…