Kristen Dawodu has explained why Wahalanetwork, the blog he founded in August of 2021, has a strict gatekeeping process.
According to him: “We ensure we have evidence to back up the stories we post. Already, many of our followers know WahalaNetwork for that. Some of our followers often DM to share some news, but once they have no evidence or screenshots, we don’t post them, we count such stories invalid, as long as there is no scintilla of evidence that will enable us to verify the story, we won’t post it. On our page, there’s always evidence for every news posted. This is extremely important because we are trying to set a good example.”
Speaking further, Dawodu, whose real name is Oluwagbenga Oluwafemi Dawodu, said: “We are in an era of fake news, where stories, photos and videos can be manipulated just to defame a target. Any serious blogger or owner of popular media needs to be careful about the content it disseminates to the public.”
Speaking further about WahalaNetwork’s Instagram account (@wahalanetwork) which recorded over 100, 000 followers in just six months, Dawodu averred that he is being careful not to fall foul of Instagram’s rules. This is one of the reasons nude content, even if it is related to A-list celebs, is banned on WahalaNetwork, he insisted.
“Most blogs are being careful of posting nude photos or sex tapes even if it will bring a lot of traffic, because of Instagram guidelines which, once flouted, make it easy for pages to be removed. Remember, the likes of Tundeednut and Gossip Mill once had their pages removed and consequently had to start from scratch,” he said.
He also added: “I have spent a lot on my page and I have posted a lot of content. I don’t want to risk losing the page and then have to start all over again. Therefore, before we post any content, it goes through a thorough review to ascertain that it doesn’t go against Instagram guidelines.”