2027: Yiaga Africa urges INEC to tackle AI misinformation

Ahead of Nigeria's 2027 general elections, Yiaga Africa, a non-governmental organization, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to enhance the capability of its staff to identify and counter artificial intelligence-generated misinformation. Yiaga Africa's Director of Programmes, Cynthia Mbamalu, made this appeal during a webinar organized by the PUNCH Media Foundation.

She highlighted the need for INEC to improve the digital literacy of its personnel managing IT departments and social media platforms to effectively respond to emerging threats. Mbamalu emphasized that INEC should equip its staff with the technical knowledge necessary to detect manipulated content and employ appropriate countermeasures.

She also suggested that INEC should improve its response to misleading information, citing the recent controversy involving images purportedly from the voters' register.