Wia dis foto come from, @peteedochie/Instagram
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- Author, Tunde Ososanya
- Role, Senior Journalist
- Reporting from, Lagos
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Read am in 4 mins
Fake news on di death of ogbonge actor Pete Edochie bin start to trend on social media on Tuesday afta one X user first make di claim.
Di user wit di handle @Heismikel1 bin claim say di elder son of Pete Edochie confam di news of im passing.
However, checks wey BBC News Pidgin bin run reveal say di claim na lie.
Pete Edochie son Linc Edochie make am clear say dia papa still dey alive.
“My papa still dey alive and well,” Linc Edochie tell BBC.
Dis no be di first time wey fake news go come out say Pete Edochie don die. Also, di ogbonge actor no be di only pesin wey don be victim of fake news ontop social media.
Oda celebrities wey fake news about dia deaths bin don trend bifor include fellow actor Olu Jacob and ogbonge musician Sunday Adegeye aka Sunny Ade.
For 2016, King Sunny Ade bin come out to say im dey alive afta fake news of im death bin go viral.
“I no know wia di story dey come from or who fit don go out wit such rumours. No mind dem. But dem no fit kill me. God no go allow anytin to happun to me,” e tok.
For Nigeria digital space, death rumours – especially about celebrities – dey always surface.
Nigerian social media expert Oluwatobiloba Oluwatoyin tell BBC News Pidgin say one major driver of fake news na becos pipo dey benefit from di traffic.
“Di rave now na wetin pipo dey call “banger boys”, wia dem go just write anytin just becos dem want traffic and get money from Elon Musk, as dem dey tok,” Oluwatoyin tok.
E say anoda reason na becos pipo (especially blogs) wan be di first to break di news, and dem dey mostly target celebrities wey neva dey for limelight for a while.
“Na why dem dey choose celebs like Olu Jacobs, Pete Edochie, etc. Na mostly just to get traffic on dia blogs or be di first to break di news,” e add.
Under X creator monetization programme, users dey earn money based on engagement, particularly replies and interactions from oda verified or active accounts. In practice, e mean say posts wey provoke shock, anger, grief, or argument dey perform well well. Few tins dey trigger engagement faster dan news of celebrity death.
Post wey declare say one celebrity don die dey guaranteed to attract hundreds of replies: disbelief, prayers, corrections, arguments, and emotional tributes. Each reply dey feed di algorithm, and dis na money for di pesin wey post am.
Dis incentive structure don transform misinformation into business model so tey some accounts dey deliberately post unverified or misleading death rumours, as dem dey aware say even corrections and backlash go still count as engagement. Weda di information na true or na lie, wetin mata to dem be say pipo don respond.
While X officially dey discourage misinformation, dia monetisation mechanics dey unintentionally reward virality ova verification.
Who be Pete Edochie
Wia dis foto come from, @peteedochie/Instagram
Dem born Pete Edochie on 7 March 1947 for Enugu State.
Im papa bin work wit di Nigerian Railways, and di job bin take di family from di East to Kaduna, wia Pete Edochie bin spend most of im childhood and teenage years.
Pete Edochie bin attend Saint Patrick’s and Saint James Primary Schools for Zaria bifor e enrol for Saint John Secondary School, Kaduna, for 1960.
Four years later, e bin leave school to join im papa for di Railways. For 1966, amid rising tensions for Northern Nigeria, e run comot from di region shortly bifor di civil war start.
At 20, e bin start im career for radio broadcasting wit di Eastern Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation.
For 1980, e bin receive formal training at di British Broadcasting Corporation and rise through di ranks, and become di pioneer director of Anambra Broadcasting Service 3FM Stereo for 1987.
E bin retire one year later afta govment interference politicise di station operations.
Bifor e comot from broadcasting, Pete Edochie bin don already secure im place in television history wit im iconic role as Okonkwo for Things Fall Apart, wey be adaptation of Chinua Achebe classic novel.
Pete Edochie na father of six, including Nollywood stars Yul and Linc.
Di actor become pioneer inductee into di moviemakers Hall of Fame for 2000, e receive di AMAA Industry Merit Award for 2014 and City People Lifetime Achievement Award for 2016.
For 2025, ISTM University confer am wit Doctorate of Arts in Excellence, Leadership and Development.
