A dark cloud of misinformation hung over the final weeks of the 2023 campaign when a blog post claimed that one of the top three presidential candidates had collapsed and passed away while undergoing secret medical treatment in Europe. The post, which used a blurred image of a hospital bed, was shared tens of thousands of times on X (then Twitter), leading to a significant dip in the candidate’s supporters’ morale and causing a minor panic in the financial markets.
The candidate’s campaign team responded by releasing a live video of him exercising and interacting with staff at his residence abroad, proving the death report was entirely false. The candidate returned to Nigeria the following day to a massive crowd of supporters at the airport. Investigations by digital forensic teams suggested the rumor was launched by a “troll farm” specifically to create chaos and depress voter turnout in certain regions.
Medical fake news was a common weapon during the 2023 election, targeting the health and stamina of various candidates. This specific story remains one of the most cited examples of “death hoaxes” in Nigerian political history. The National Peace Committee urged all candidates to call their supporters to order and stop the spread of malicious lies that could incite violence.
