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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has tasked newsroom leaders across the country to erect an unyielding firewall of rigorous fact-checking and digital verification against AI-driven deepfakes.
The Commission has warned that synthetic disinformation poses an existential threat to public trust and democratic stability ahead of the 2027 general elections.
A statement by the INEC Chief Press Officer, Adedayo Oketola, said Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, represented by the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Enugu State, Dr Chukwuemeka Chukwu, gave the charge on Thursday at the 22nd All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC) 2026 held in Enugu, Enugu State.
In his speech titled “Voting, the Media and the Task of Keeping Democracy Alive,” Amupitan warned that generative artificial intelligence, voice cloning and deepfake video synthesis have democratized mass deception, allowing political saboteurs to produce photorealistic videos of election officials, cloned audio files and falsified score sheets designed to incite public outrage and delegitimize democratic results.
The INEC President urged the media leadership to institutionalize specialized fact-checking desks, implement forensic image analysis software and strictly adhere to statutory protocols that require official election results to be verified exclusively through INEC before publication.
Amupitan said: “We have moved far beyond simple political bias, hyperbole or unverified rumor into an era of synthetically produced reality. Generative artificial intelligence, voice cloning, deepfake video synthesis and automated botnets have democratized mass deception.
“Malicious operators no longer need a printing press or a broadcast license to deceive millions of people. With modest computing power, they can produce a photorealistic video of an electoral official allegedly declaring false results in a dark room; a cloned audio file of an INEC resident electoral commissioner instructing staff to manipulate voting machines on the eve of elections; a cloned audio file of an INEC resident electoral commissioner instructing staff to manipulate voting machines vote;
“Manipulated result sheets, designed to mimic official security features, flooded across social media minutes after polls closed to create the illusion of fraud before polling even begins.
“The main danger of synthetic disinformation is not simply that it tricks citizens into believing a specific lie, but causes the systemic destruction of public trust. When everything can be falsified, citizens begin to doubt the authentic and verified facts provided by constitutional authorities.”
“When deepfakes make lies believable, the real truth is met with skepticism. Cynicism replaces civic engagement, leading voters to ask: Why stand in line for hours if the outcome is already manipulated on a screen? That mental retreat is where democracy begins to decay.
“Disinformation attacks the cognitive sovereignty of the electorate, transforming elections from a peaceful contest of ideas into a volatile battlefield of manipulated emotions, ethnic tensions and manufactured outrage.
“For an election management body, administrative success on the ground can be instantly erased on a smartphone screen by a timely, algorithmically enhanced deepfake.”
Regarding the threat environment, Amupitan revealed that INEC has moved from defensive anxiety to a proactive technological offensive.
He said the Commission has established a dedicated AI division within its ICT department and has begun implementing automated AI checking tools within the results management process to detect discrepancies before final verification.
It stressed that all automated controls remain strictly governed by a five-pillar AI governance framework and subject to mandatory human audits.
…On the declaration of results
Amupitan also cautioned media outlets against publishing or amplifying privately collected election results ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He warned that such reports could create conflicting narratives and undermine confidence in officially declared results.
Amupitan urged publishers to ensure that their platforms do not become conduits for unverified election data.
He said: “We resist premature declarations of results. According to the electoral law, the statutory authority to declare election results lies exclusively with INEC.
“Amplifying unverified, privately collected data posted by political actors on social media creates conflicting public narratives that undermine official findings. We should use our platforms to educate citizens to spot synthetic content, fake letterhead, and algorithmically generated lures.”
The INEC president has warned that amplifying unverified, privately collected data posted by political actors on social media could create conflicting public narratives capable of undermining official election results.
He said the media has a critical responsibility to protect the integrity of the electoral process, particularly as artificial intelligence and social media make it increasingly difficult to distinguish authentic information from manipulated content.
According to him, the pressure on editorial offices to be the first to publish should not prevail over the obligation to verify information during elections.
He added: “The pressure on modern newsrooms to be first is immense, but in national elections it is much more important to be right than to be first.
“The rush to publish unverified and sensational claims, whether a false social media result, a doctored video, or an unconfirmed statement, grants institutional legitimacy to deliberate deception, causing damage to the public peace that is nearly impossible to repair.
“I call on the Editors’ Guild of Nigeria to consider media policing as a critical component of national security and democratic defense. To effectively combat AI-driven disinformation before, during and after elections, we must build a collaborative firewall.”
The INEC President also took the opportunity to draw attention to the economic conditions of Nigerian journalists, arguing that the well-being of the media is directly linked to the integrity of journalism and, by extension, democratic governance.
He told media owners and managers that it would be difficult to expect journalists who face severe financial insecurity, unpaid wages and inadequate welfare to consistently resist political incentives and other pressures.
“A poorly paid journalist is vulnerable; a financially neglected newsroom is fertile ground for compromise,” he said.
According to him, journalists who receive decent remuneration and structured welfare are in a better position to resist financial incentives, question false narratives and report elections objectively.
Amupitan said INEC has applied a similar principle to its workforce by introducing measures to improve the welfare of electoral officials.
He revealed that the Commission has established the Consolidated Electoral Management Body Salary Structure (CEMBSS), separating its workforce from the normal civil service salary structure effective January 1, 2026.
On preparations for the 2027 elections, the INEC Chairman said the Commission launched a six-zone interactive meetings and preparedness assessment tour in Lagos on September 7, aimed at assessing preparations across the country.
He said the media has a vital role to play in this process because elections are no longer contested only at polling locations but also in the information space.
…president of the NGE
Reinforcing the imperative of media vigilance during his opening speech, President of the Nigerian Publishers Guild, Eze Anaba, stressed: “We have a responsibility to ensure that our democracy survives. The media must hold power accountable and provide space for diverse voices to be heard. Political actors alone are not responsible for our democracy, the judiciary and media have a role to play in strengthening our democracy.”
…Obi of Onitsha advises INEC, media
The Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, has urged INEC to form a joint rapid response office of all newsrooms to dispel election misinformation.”
The traditional leader also challenged newsroom editors to take an active role in combating growing voter apathy by educating the public on the importance of participating in the next general election cycle.
Also in his speech, the Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, underlined that a free press is necessary for true democracy
According to him, the situation in Nigeria is not that serious.
“We see it in the diversity of newspapers printed every day, in the wide range of radio and television stations and, more recently, in social media that has burst into the media space in a way we have yet to see how far it will go.
“The latest addition, of course, is artificial intelligence (AI). It is already doing wonders in the communications space, although not without its dangers if allowed to slip out of human control.” he added.
