Inspired by China’s Example, Nigeria’s Information Minister Wants to Regulate Social Media

Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, sparked widespread outrage on Tuesday when he called for the government to step in and begin to censor online content. “If we don’t regulate social media, it will destroy us,” he told a House committee. “The biggest challenge facing Nigeria today is fake news and misinformation,” Minister Mohammed told legislators.

In his testimony, the minister used China as an example of a country that successfully regulates social media and other online content. But it’s not entirely clear how familiar he is with China’s all-encompassing control of digital media and the lengths Beijing goes to remove all content the government deems objectionable.