***Cautions media against declaring unofficial results
ENUGU — The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has charged newsroom leaders across the country to erect an unyielding firewall of rigorous fact-checking and digital verification against artificial intelligence-driven deepfakes.
The commission warned that synthetic disinformation poses an existential threat to public trust and democratic stability ahead of the 2027 General Elections.
Chairman of INEC, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, who was represented by the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Enugu State, Dr. Chukwuemeka Chukwu, gave the charge on Thursday, September 24, 2026, at the 22nd All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC) 2026 holding in Enugu.
Delivering his address titled, “The Ballot, the Media and the Task of Keeping Democracy Alive,” Prof. Amupitan cautioned that generative AI, voice cloning, and deepfake video synthesis had democratised mass deception, enabling political saboteurs to produce photorealistic videos of election officials, cloned audio files, and doctored result sheets designed to incite public outrage and delegitimise democratic outcomes.
The INEC chairman urged the leadership of the media to institutionalise specialised fact-checking desks, deploy forensic image analysis software, and strictly adhere to statutory protocols requiring that official election results be verified exclusively through INEC before publication.
Amupitan said: “We have moved far beyond simple political bias, hyperbole, or unverified rumours into an era of synthetically manufactured reality. Generative artificial intelligence, voice cloning, deepfake video synthesis, and automated bot networks have democratised mass deception.
“Malicious operatives no longer need a printing press or broadcast license to deceive millions. With modest computing power, they can produce a photorealistic video of an electoral official purportedly declaring false results in a dark room; a cloned audio file of an INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner instructing staff to manipulate voting devices on election eve;
“Manipulated result sheets engineered to mimic official security features, flooded onto social media minutes after polling closes to create an illusion of fraud before collation even begins.
“The primary danger of synthetic disinformation is not merely that it tricks citizens into believing a specific falsehood, but it causes the systemic destruction of public trust. When everything can be faked, citizens begin to doubt genuine, verified facts provided by constitutional authorities.
“When deepfakes render lies believable, real truth is greeted 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 electorate’s cognitive sovereignty, turning elections from a peaceful contest of ideas into a volatile battleground of manipulated emotions, ethnic tension, and pre-packaged outrage.
“For an election management body, administrative success on the ground can be instantly erased on a smartphone screen by a well-timed, algorithmically boosted deepfake.”
Responding to the threat environment, Amupitan disclosed that INEC had transitioned from defensive anxiety to a proactive technological offensive.
He said the Commission had established a dedicated Artificial Intelligence Division within its ICT Department and commenced deploying automated AI auditing tools within the Results Management process to detect discrepancies before final verification.
He emphasized that all automated checks remained strictly governed by a five-pillar AI Governance Framework and subject to mandatory human auditing.
Amupitan also cautioned media organisations against publishing or amplifying privately collated 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 editors to ensure that their platforms did not become channels for unverified election figures.
He said: “Let’s resist premature result declarations. Under the Electoral Act, statutory authority to declare election results rests exclusively with INEC.
“Amplifying unverified, privately collated figures published by political actors on social media creates conflicting public narratives that undermine official outcomes. We should use our platforms to educate citizens on spotting synthetic content, fake letterheads, and algorithmically generated rage-bait.”
The INEC chairman warned that amplifying unverified, privately collated figures published by political actors on social media could create conflicting public narratives capable of undermining official election outcomes.
He said the media had a critical responsibility to protect the integrity of the electoral process, particularly as artificial intelligence and social media were making it increasingly difficult to distinguish authentic information from manipulated content.
According to him, the pressure on newsrooms to be the first to publish should not override 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 vastly more important to be right than to be first.
“Rushing to publish unverified, sensational claims whether a fake result sheet on social media, a doctored video, or an unconfirmed statement grants institutional legitimacy to deliberate deception, causing damage to public peace that is almost impossible to reverse.
“I appeal to the Nigerian Guild of Editors to view media gatekeeping 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 chairman also used the occasion to draw attention to the economic conditions of Nigerian journalists, arguing that media welfare was directly connected to the integrity of journalism and, by extension, democratic governance.
He told media owners and managers that it would be difficult to expect journalists facing severe financial insecurity, unpaid salaries and inadequate welfare to consistently withstand political inducement and other pressures.
“A poorly compensated 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 better positioned to resist financial inducement, interrogate false narratives and report elections objectively.
Amupitan said INEC had applied a similar principle to its own workforce by introducing measures aimed at improving the welfare of election officials.
He disclosed that the Commission established the Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure (CEMBSS), separating its workforce from the regular Civil Service salary structure with effect from January 1, 2026.
Reinforcing the imperative for media vigilance during his opening address, the President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Mr. Eze Anaba, emphasized:
“We have a responsibility to ensure that our democracy survives. The media must hold power accountable and provide the space for diverse voices to be heard. The political actors alone are not in charge of our democracy, the judiciary and the media have a role to play to strengthen our democracy.”
On preparations for the 2027 elections, the INEC chairman said the Commission commenced a six-zone Interactive Meetings and Readiness Assessment tour in Lagos on September 7, aimed at assessing preparations across the country.
He said the media had a critical role to play in the process because elections were no longer contested only at polling units but also in the information space.
The Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, urged INEC to form a joint Rapid Response Desk 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 upcoming general election cycle.
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Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, John Cardinal Onaiyekan noted that a free press is necessary for a genuine democracy
According to him, the situation in Nigeria is not so bad.
“We see this in the diversity of printed newspapers every day, the wide range of radio and television stations, and then most recently the social media that has made an irruption onto the media space in a way that we are still to see how far it is going.
“The latest arrival, of course, is artificial intelligence, AI. It is already working wonders in the communication space, though not without its dangers if it is allowed to spin out of human control”, he added.
