There are numerous claims circulating on social media suggesting that billionaire businessman, Aliko Dangote, is the ‘owner of Nigeria’, as a result of Google’s search algorithm suggesting his Wikipedia profile whenever ‘Who is the Nigerian owner’.
It seems that for some time now, Google’s search algorithm has been constantly promoting information that is either inaccurate or, when there is no relevant article, showing a random Wikipedia profile.
Still, on Thursday, some Nigerian social media users searched for “The Owner of Nigeria” on Google and the search engine returned Aliko Dangote’s Wikipedia profile as a result, prompting misinformation and propaganda to spread on Twitter.
Many people took to Twitter with screenshots of the Google search result, urging others to do the same for confirmation. This led to many people doing the same search and sharing the results on various social media platforms and as a result, many people came to believe that Aliko Dangote, the richest man in Africa, owns the country of Nigeria, which has a population of more than 220 million people.
Popular Nigerian comedian, Helen Paul, recently posted how a Google search showed that Dangote owns Nigeria.
On his official Instagram page, the media personality posted a screenshot of a Google search asking who owns the country.
The comedian didn’t seem to be laughing as she explained her observations about ‘the owner’ of Nigeria. She wrote: “Who owns Nigeria at Google? “The owner doesn’t post much on social media. The owner is always giving us a friendly smile. The owner does not drag on social networks. The owner does not post family and friends on social networks. Oh….. What owner”.
But there is no legal or constitutional basis for claiming that Aliko Dangote owns Nigeria.
LEADERSHIP did the same search for ‘Who owns Nigeria’ on Google and the search result showed Aliko Dangote.
However, the same search was also run for other countries and the results showed that the billionaire from each country was listed as the owner of that country. This was even the case in China, where Jack Ma was shown as the owner of China.
The reason for this misinformation is not unreasonable. The problem is the Google algorithm error.
One of the key benefits of ChatGPT, the AI bot, is that it can provide accurate and reliable information. In this case, I would inform you that Aliko Dangote does not own Nigeria. Conversely, Google’s search algorithm can suggest an answer even if it is based on false or misleading information.
This is not the first instance that Google’s search algorithm has spread false information. In the past, there have been similar mistakes, such as when he suggested that Agbani Darego was the ugliest Nigerian woman.
These incidents occurred because Google is simply a search engine that displays articles that have already been written on the Internet. When it can’t find an article relevant to a specific query, it often shows random names from Wikipedia.
It is important to note that the information being spread on social media, claiming that Aliko Dangote owns Nigeria, is false. Nigeria is a sovereign nation, governed by the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with a President as Head of State and Government. The president is elected by the people through a democratic process. Dangote is a successful businessman, but he does not own the country. The Google search algorithm result suggesting your Wikipedia profile as “the owner of Nigeria” is misleading, because the platform only gives you what has been published on the internet, and once it cannot find any relevant information, it shows random names from Wikipedia. .
