2027: Tackle fake news early, Yiaga urges INEC

Yiaga Africa’s Director of Programmes, Cynthia Mbamalu, has said the Independent National Electoral Commission must provide accurate and timely information on the electoral process.

This, Mbamalu said, would prevent AI-enabled disinformation from eroding public confidence and discouraging voter participation ahead of the 2027 general elections.

She warned that deliberate attempts to mislead voters posed a greater threat than misinformation shared unknowingly, urging the electoral commission to adopt proactive communication and establish clear channels through which citizens can verify election-related information.

Speaking at The PUNCH webinar on AI, misinformation and Nigeria’s 2027 general elections on Wednesday, organised by the PUNCH Media Foundation, YIAGA Africa’s Director of Programmes said public trust was critical to electoral participation, warning that citizens who lost confidence in the process were less likely to participate.

“When people are confident, then they are more inspired to participate. When they don’t trust the system, they are less inspired to participate. And I always say this: trust is a currency for electoral participation. For citizens, especially Nigerians, we already operate in a context where we naturally have a major trust issue as a people. This is a country where we ordinarily do not trust each other, so we struggle with trust.

“When it comes to the electoral process, if there is anything that anyone targets, if you want to limit participation or affect how citizens engage, the major target is trust and confidence, which is why we are having this conversation on AI and misinformation,” she said.

Mbamalu further noted that the growing use of digitally manipulated content made it necessary for electoral stakeholders to strengthen information integrity before, during and after elections.

She explained that the country currently faced a bigger challenge of disinformation, which is deliberate attempts to deceive and manipulate the public.

Mbamalu said building public confidence required the provision of reliable information, especially by the electoral commission, which she urged not to remain passive in the face of emerging threats.

“If the currency of all citizens’ participation is trust, then the first thing is to build trust and to build confidence. And what is the one important way of doing that? Provide accurate, timely information on the process. And as a civil society organisation and as observer groups working, our role first is to provide accurate information, which is why most of us conduct pre-election observation.

“But for the electoral commission in this process, INEC cannot be a silent or passive participant. INEC has, in fact, the most important role of being forthright and being proactive and timely with information, because it’s easier to pre-bunk than debunk,” the lead for the #WatchingTheVote project stated.

Mbamalu said proactive communication should go beyond publishing information on social media or using traditional media, urging INEC to inform citizens of where and when to obtain credible information.

She stated, “Now, providing timely information is not just about putting posts on social media platforms or leveraging traditional media. It’s also about providing information to citizens on where and when to access credible information. What we need from the electoral commission is a clear timeline on how

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“INEC would provide information to citizens. We need to see that level of robustness in their communication strategy.

“For some countries in Africa, ahead of the elections we see a clear schedule on how many times the commission will have press briefings. So citizens know when to wait and when to listen for the commission to speak.

“That way, it allows voters or citizens to look for it, to focus on the single source of truth for the election, which is the electoral commission first. So providing information for me is not just how we provide information for the commission, but the timeliness, the method, the channels leveraged to provide information.”

Mbamalu also urged INEC, the media and security agencies to develop response plans for possible threats to information integrity ahead of the elections.

“To the electoral commission, what is very important is emphasis on proactive communication, timely communication, and ensuring we are pre-bunking because it is easier than debunking when it comes to elections,” the human rights advocate emphasised.

She said stakeholders should identify potential scenarios, including the circulation of deepfake videos or fabricated announcements about changes to election dates, and agree on the actions required to address them.

She stressed that protecting the integrity of election-related information was a shared responsibility and should not be left to INEC alone.

The director further called for stronger digital literacy among voters, media practitioners and civil society organisations to teach citizens how to identify false information and avoid actions that could make it trend.

She also urged civil society organisations and election observers using technology to strengthen collaboration and develop a code of conduct to guide their activities during the electoral process.

Media practitioners, she added, also needed clear guidelines on how to handle election-related information to avoid inadvertently amplifying false claims.

The PUNCH webinar series, themed “AI, Misinformation and Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Safeguarding the Truth, Protecting the Vote,” is aimed at promoting the responsible use of artificial intelligence during the polls and addressing concerns that the technology could be exploited to manipulate voters, spread disinformation and weaken public confidence.

It brings together stakeholders from the media, electoral administration, security, technology and civil society sectors to discuss threats posed by digitally manipulated content and measures to protect the integrity of election-related information.