Nigerian singer and music executive Charles Enebeli, popularly known as D’Prince, has heavily criticised the growing use of cyberbullying as a source of income in the entertainment sector.
Taking to his verified X handle on Tuesday morning, D’Prince described the practice as a detrimental trend in which some media outlets and podcasts rely on controversy and targeted attacks to generate revenue.
He pointed out that there was already a lot of pressure on creatives to maintain their livelihoods and jobs, maintaining that an artist’s well-being should never be sacrificed for internet attention.
He added that orchestrated internet animosity was spreading beyond the entertainment industry.
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He wrote: “Cyberbullying has increasingly become a dangerous business model in Nigeria, to the extent that some podcasts and media platforms are now created primarily to monetise paid narratives, controversy, and targeted online attacks.
“Creatives already face immense pressure simply trying to survive, sustain their careers, and continue doing what they love in order to put food on the table.
“No amount of internet clout is worth an artist’s mental health, dignity, or emotional wellbeing.
“No creative deserves coordinated hate fueled by propaganda, engagement farming, or paid online agendas and this extends beyond entertainment to every sector operating within the social media space”.
He called for stronger accountability and professionalism in journalism and digital media to address the problem.
“We urgently need greater accountability, professionalism, and humanity in modern journalism and digital media culture in order to curb the growing wave of toxic fanaticism online”, he added.
While supporting freedom of speech, he cautioned that the line between casual online interaction and cyberbullying was thin and urged the public to show more empathy.
“As we all continue to exercise our constitutional right to freedom of speech, we must also remember that there is a very thin line between online banter and cyberbullying.
“Let us choose empathy over cruelty, because every single person is fighting battles the world may never see”, he concluded.
