Communication professionals must prioritize internal stakeholder engagement and credible third-party validation to navigate the increasingly complex landscape of digital skepticism, misinformation and cross-border reputation risks, experts said at the Nigeria Digital PR Summit.

The webinar, themed “Digital PR 2026: Preparing Communicators for the Future,” brought together industry leaders to examine emerging challenges and opportunities reshaping public relations practice in an era defined by artificial intelligence, platform volatility and heightened audience activism.

Omawumi Ogbe, managing partner at GLG Communications, addressed the challenge of building trust in an environment saturated with AI-generated content and misinformation, arguing that public relations practice has fundamentally shifted from storytelling to what she described as story proving. “Right now, trust is a hard currency because to combat misinformation, we must now move as PR leaders from storytelling to story proving. We definitely now need to be very transparent, radical transparency. Transparency is really the antidote to skepticism, especially with all this fake new.”

She stressed that the messenger has become more important than the message in the current landscape. “It matters who the messenger is more than the message right now. You need high credibility sources, experts, non-biased voices, academics, technical experts, legal institutions. These are the people that will vouch for your narratives. We don’t need to be vague.”

Ogbe, warned communicators against careless sharing and reposting without full verification, citing recent examples of AI-manipulated videos. “You can no longer afford to just repost, especially as a leader where you have something at stake. Before you comment and give your two cents, you need to be sure that it is real. Do not wait for a crisis to define your truth. You need to define it daily with everything that you do,” she said.

She noted that a fundamental shift in influencer culture toward subject matter expertise. “We’re really shifting from the old superficial celebrity endorsement towards subject matter influencers. These are the voices that are shaping policy and public opinion through expertise, not just follower counts, because people need truth,” she said.

Omawumi Ogbe, managing partner at GLG Communications

Adaoha Njemanze, founder and principal consultant at NOVVA Media & Communications, discussed the challenge of maintaining brand distinctiveness in an increasingly saturated digital environment while preserving messaging clarity. “One of the first things that I always say is, what exactly are you selling? As much as we’re remaining distinctive, are we also paying attention to our target audience, to our consumers, to our necessary stakeholders?” Njemanze said.

She emphasized the importance of community building and long-term strategic planning. “You’re building a space where the community in which your product or services are based is thriving. When people say, oh, this is the brand’s five year plan, does the five year plan align with where your consumers are going?” she explained.

Adaoha Njemanze, founder and principal consultant at NOVVA Media & Communications

Samuel Adeyemi, founder and chief executive of Media DNA, emphasized that winning externally begins with winning internally, stressing the importance of employee alignment with organizational mission and values before launching external campaigns. “You must first inculcate your ideas in your employees. They must first be the ones that understand the communication. There must be a handshake between them, and then from the top down,” Adeyemi said.

He cited the example of a bank managing director who uses the institution’s mobile app personally to identify bugs and understand the user journey firsthand. “He uses the app so that he notices if there is any bug. He sees the user journey. He experiences it. That is the way to go about it. Our internal audience must be immersed in the mission and the vision of the organization before you come out, and that’s the way to win,” Adeyemi explained.

Adeyemi outlined emerging risks that communicators should anticipate, warning that the age of uncertainty requires heightened vigilance across multiple dimensions.

Samuel Adeyemi, founder and chief executive of Media DNA

He identified the 2027 elections as a major risk factor for the communications landscape. “Next is the 2027 election. It’s going to change the game for communication people. This year, primary elections will take place and trust our people, you’re going to see all kinds of fake stuff on social media. You have to understand what that means before you even put your content out,” he explained.