{
  "id": 6385130,
  "title": "IEC vows strict implementation of fake news code",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/iec-vows-strict-implementation-of-fake-news-code",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-09T04:20:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Citizen",
    "slug": "the-citizen",
    "url": "https://www.citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/elections/iec-vows-strict-implementation-of-fake-news-code/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has pledged to rigorously enforce the new Electoral Code of Conduct, aimed at curbing disinformation ahead of the upcoming local government elections. Effective from the day of its promulgation, this disinformation or fake news code seeks to bolster election integrity and foster a free, fair, and orderly local government election scheduled for November 4. Kate Bapela, the IEC's national spokesperson, explained that the code was designed to protect the electoral process from deliberately spread disinformation online. To report suspected disinformation, the IEC has designated Real411, an online platform accessible to the public, political parties, candidates, and organizations, as the official channel for submitting such reports. Bapela clarified that the code permits lawful criticism, commentary, fair reporting, satire, parody, or legitimate democratic debate, provided these fall within the bounds of protected speech. The Real411 platform enables the public, political parties, candidates, and organizations to report suspected election-related disinformation. The code imposes strict obligations on political parties and candidates participating in all election-related communication, both online and offline, whether paid or unpaid. They are required to verify information's accuracy before dissemination, take responsibility for content published by them, and ensure accountability for content disseminated on their behalf. Should they disseminate false or misleading information, they must retract and correct it within 36 hours of becoming aware of the error, and censure those responsible where appropriate. The IEC has cautioned political parties and candidates against engaging in deceptive practices, including the use of fake accounts, bot networks, coordinated inauthentic behavior, doxing, cyberbullying, and the distribution of AI-generated or \"synthetic\" content without clear labeling. Furthermore, they must clearly label political advertisements so the public can identify the entities behind them. To maintain transparency and accountability, individuals who identify online disinformation are mandated to report it to Real411 within 36 hours of discovering the information.",
  "summary": "Commission designated the digital platform Real411, available on the IEC portal for reporting suspected disinformation under the new code.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}