Understanding User’s Knowledge-Driven Competence to Identify Cloned and Authentic Facebook Pages of Newspapers

Main Article Content

Abubakar Tijjani Ibrahim
Adamkolo Muhammed Ibrahim

Abstract

Cloned Facebook pages that mimic established newspapers pose a risk of misinformation, particularly for postgraduate students in Nigeria who are expected to have strong media-literacy skills. This study investigates their ability to distinguish authentic from cloned Facebook pages of Daily Trust and Vanguard, and identifies the cues and strategies they use in the evaluation process. Using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach, the study began with a survey of 372 postgraduate students across three universities in North-West Nigeria. It measured their knowledge of authenticity indicators such as verification badges, URLs, and contact details. This was followed by ten in-depth interviews with selected students and newspaper editors to explore their reasoning and institutional practices. Results show that fewer than 14% of students were aware of missing verification badges on cloned pages, and only about 20% recognized misuse of logos or names. Most relied on visual elements like logos and page titles rather than systematic checks. Editors also confirmed that clone detection is reactive, triggered mostly by user complaints. The findings indicate a gap between assumed competence and actual verification skills. The study recommends introducing a structured Digital Verification Training (DVT) program that includes theoretical instruction, hands-on exercises, case studies, and collaboration with media platforms to improve users' ability to verify online news sources.

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Author Biographies

Abubakar Tijjani Ibrahim, Kano State Polytechnic

Abubakar Tijjani Ibrahim, PhD, is a Lecturer at the Department of Mass Communication, Kano State Polytechnic, Nigeria, where he currently serves as the Head of Department. In addition, he held various administrative positions including Acting Head of department, Chief Examination Officer and Deputy Chief Examination Officer. Dr. Abubakar Ibrahim also served in a number of committees including ASUP National Conference Committee, Examination Misconduct Committee among others. His research interest focuses on fake news, misinformation, social media and news content credibility, and media literacy.

Adamkolo Muhammed Ibrahim , University of Maiduguri

Adamkolo Mohammed Ibrahim, PhD, is a Lecturer at the Department of Mass Communication, University of Maiduguri, Nigeria. As an accomplished researcher and peer reviewer of more than a decade, he reviews for quite a number of local and international journals, notably Computers in Human Behavior (Elsevier), SAGE Open (SAGE) and Journal of Systems and Information Technology (JSIT) (Emerald). He has published many research articles and book chapters, and attended a number of local and international conferences. His research interests include social TV, social media, development communication, health communication, development communication, mass communication and journalism, ICT adoption and human-computer interaction/computer-mediated communication.

 

How to Cite

Understanding User’s Knowledge-Driven Competence to Identify Cloned and Authentic Facebook Pages of Newspapers. (2025). Feedback International Journal of Communication, 2(2), 116-132. https://doi.org/10.62569/fijc.v2i2.181

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