2027: INEC Warns Media Against Amplifying AI Deepfakes

The Independent National Electoral Commission has urged media organisations to verify artificial intelligence-generated content before publication or broadcast to prevent the spread of deepfakes ahead of the 2027 general elections.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, also called on political parties and candidates to sign an ethical code of conduct prohibiting the use of AI-generated deception to manipulate voters.

Amupitan made the call on Wednesday at the AI Democracy Forum, themed, “Will Algorithms Determine the 2027 Vote? Safeguarding Nigeria’s 2027 General Election in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” in Abuja.

He warned that sensational and misleading digital content could undermine electoral integrity if media organisations failed to verify information before disseminating it.

“All traditional media outlets should establish internal digital forensic checks to verify AI-generated content before broadcast or publication, rather than giving sensational deepfakes mainstream amplification,” he said.

The INEC chairman insisted that technology must not be allowed to undermine the will of the electorate.

“Democracy is mandated by humans, not algorithms,” he declared.

Amupitan said political parties must recognise that elections were a social responsibility and not an opportunity to deploy technology to deceive voters.

“To political parties and candidates, democracy is a social responsibility, not a contest of algorithmic deception,” he said.

He urged political parties to commit themselves to rejecting deepfakes, deceptive disinformation, catfishing and other unfair practices capable of misleading voters.

“We call on all political parties to sign an ethical AI code of conduct, committing themselves to refraining from employing deepfakes, deceptive disinformation, catfishing or other unfair means to deceive voters,” he said.

The INEC chairman also tasked civil society organisations and development partners with strengthening their monitoring mechanisms to detect digital manipulation and promote transparency.

He called for grassroots digital literacy campaigns, particularly in rural and underserved communities, to equip citizens with the skills to identify misleading online content.

“I call on all of you to expand your monitoring frameworks to focus on algorithmic transparency, canvassing and false tagging, and to conduct grassroots digital literacy campaigns in rural and underserved communities,” he said.

Amupitan further urged security agencies to undergo advanced training in digital forensics and improve information sharing to tackle emerging threats associated with AI-generated content.

He, however, cautioned that efforts to address digital manipulation must respect constitutional rights and the rule of law.

“We must ensure that whatever we do remains within the boundaries of constitutional rights and the rule of law,” he said.

He also called on judicial and security institutions to strengthen their understanding of AI-generated evidence and digital content assessment to ensure that judicial decisions were based on credible technical and empirical evidence.

Describing the media and fact-checkers as crucial in the fight against disinformation, Amupitan said journalists must uphold professional standards in the emerging digital environment.

“The media must never compromise verification,” he said.

In his goodwill message, the Governance Adviser at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, to the British High Commission , Dr Matthew Ayibakuro, described the intersection of artificial intelligence and democracy as one of the defining challenges of the present era.

He said AI offered significant opportunities but also posed risks that could affect democratic processes if not properly managed.

“This intersection between artificial intelligence and democracy is actually one of the most defining challenges of our time,” Ayibakuro said.

He added that how countries managed the risks while maximising the benefits of AI would determine its impact on democratic governance.

“How we are able to minimise those risks and leverage those opportunities will be really important for our democracies today, but also going into the immediate future,” he said.

Ayibakuro said the United Kingdom, through the British High Commission, was working with partners, including INEC, through the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, on the application of electoral technology.

He said the collaboration included efforts to develop a regulatory and governance framework for the use of artificial intelligence in election administration.

“This work has included, among other things, working with INEC to develop a regulatory and governance framework for artificial intelligence and its use in election administration,” he said.

The British official expressed hope that the forum would produce a common approach for stakeholders to address the challenges posed by AI to democracy and elections.

He said discussions, workshops and plenary sessions at the forum should lead to a collaborative framework that would enable stakeholders to respond consistently to emerging issues at the intersection of AI, democracy and elections.

Ayibakuro also commended YIAGA Africa, the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, Pathfinder, Lumineers and other partners for their contributions to organising the forum.