How Craze for Elon Musk's X Pay Fuels Fake Stories in Nigeria and the Way Forward
When billionaire Elon Musk rolled out monetisation on X (formerly Twitter) for Nigerian users on August 8, 2023, many people saw it as a rare opportunity to earn in dollars from viral content from the comfort of their homes.
But beneath the excitement over payouts and engagement lies a troubling trend: the rise of fabricated stories, recycled tragedies and sensational claims designed purely to attract clicks on the Nigerian internet space.
The pressure to go and to stay viral has driven some people to invent stories and spread misinformation. One of the most recent perpetrators of the dangerous misinformation culture, however, did not go scot-free like others, perhaps, because it involved Nigerian billionaire Tony Elumelu.
Source: Getty Images
Instances of viral fake news on X
18-year-old Kingsley Chinanu Akunemeihe was arrested on Saturday, April 18, while returning home after taking his Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination and has since remained in detention.
According to a Punch publication, the suspect's sister, who is seeking his release, explained that her brother was picked up after sharing a post on X (formerly Twitter) that claimed Elumelu had divorced his wife, Awele.
In 2025, the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) reported that multiple X accounts circulated claims that Buhari had died in London, alongside misleading funeral videos and manipulated images, which fact-checkers later traced some of the visuals to unrelated funerals and old hospital footage.
There was also a viral post that falsely claimed the WTO boss, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, criticised President Bola Tinubu over insecurity. Okonjo-Iweala publicly denied authoring the statement and described it as fake.
Ethnic misinformation campaigns between Igbo and Yoruba users have also been on the rise on X, no thanks to purveyors of fake news and the spread of recycled stories. Investigations by FactCheckHub and ICIR Nigeria found coordinated X accounts spreading recycled crime stories and fabricated allegations to inflame ethnic tensions between Igbos and Yorubas.
Also, after X introduced a transparency feature exposing account locations, several anonymous profiles posing as American conservative or “MAGA” influencers were allegedly linked to Nigeria. The revelation triggered widespread conversations about engagement farming, monetisation-driven outrage content and the spread of misinformation online.
X verification badge no longer credibility sign
What is even more worrying is the fact that having the verified blue verification checkmark on X no longer holds the authenticity, credibility and respect it commanded under Jack Dorsey, co-founder and former CEO of Twitter.
This is because X’s paid verification system under Musk allows many users to obtain verification through subscription rather than traditional identity vetting.
The implication of this change in verification policy is that many Nigerian X users with verification badges, in a bid for virality and X impression craze, cook, doctor and spread misinformation, not minding the damaging effects.
A recent case study is a viral tweet by an X user, @SirChucho, who posted on the platform on May 7, 2026, that:
"JUST IN: Nigeria confirms its first case of hantavirus."
As of May 8, there are no officially confirmed outbreaks of hantavirus in Nigeria, but sadly, @SirChucho's fake news has garnered over a million views, 9k likes, 1.3k retweets, and close to two thousand comments.
On May 3, @beejay0x, an X, who has a verification badge, alleged that MTN offered him a bribe of N500,000 to take down his previous tweets calling the telecommunication company out over claims of data theft.
@beejay0x attached a screenshot of a purported DM he received from MTN, which has now been labelled 'Made with AI', suggesting that his N500,000 claim against MTN was made up.
Guess what? The damaging and fake tweet has over 3.1 million views, 15k likes, 6.7k retweets, and 3k comments.
Consequences of viral fake news on X
Fake news and misinformation on Nigerian X (formerly Twitter) has moved beyond “online drama” into something with real social, political, and even economic consequences.
False or exaggerated stories often spread quickly along ethnic or religious lines, especially during sensitive moments like elections, protests, or violent incidents.
Also, it undermines public safety during crises, damages people's reputations and careers, weakens trust in institutions and causes emotional and psychological harm.
Source: Getty Images
Fake news on X: Way forward
While the introduction of the Community Note, a footnote which provides context or corrects potential misinformation on X, is commendable, there is room for improvement if the spread of misinformation on the Nigerian X space is to be combated.
One of such ways to deal with the virus of misinformation is by promoting independent fact-checking platforms. Promoting and amplifying the corrections of these fact-checking platforms like FactCheckHub and Dubawa would help in slowing down fake news and build a culture of verification among X users.
Another approach to dealing with this menace is by introducing stiffer penalties for accounts, either big or small, who create and spread misinformation, recycle old crime stories or make up news stories with AI for virality. Such penalties include suspending their accounts or an outright ban on the individual from the platform.
Beneficiaries of creators' payout should have their earnings withheld or forfeited when it is established that they deliberately created or spread fake information on the platform.
Also, X management should create an avenue for users to report misleading posts, especially those involving violence, scams, or public safety. Collective reporting will help X flag content faster for review or removal.
X should also work more closely with Nigerian fact-checkers who understand language nuances, slang, and local misinformation patterns.
Source: Legit.ng
