2027 POLLS: Jega, EU Warn Against AI-Driven Disinformation, INEC Seeks Stronger Digital Safeguards

By Zainab Uzomah | Abuja

Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, the European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, and the incumbent INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, have warned against the growing threat of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven disinformation to Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.

They spoke at the opening of a two-day National Summit on Electoral Information Integrity, themed Beyond the Ballot: Safeguarding Electoral Information Integrity in the Age of AI, held in Abuja on Monday.

The stakeholders called for stronger institutional collaboration, effective monitoring systems and rapid-response mechanisms to tackle fabricated election information, deepfakes, cloned voices and foreign information manipulation capable of undermining public confidence in the electoral process.

Speaking as chairman of the summit, Jega urged INEC to consider deploying AI-powered chatbots to provide voters with verified electoral information and counter the spread of misinformation ahead of the 2027 elections.

The former INEC chairman said election management bodies must move beyond identifying the dangers of artificial intelligence to developing practical measures to anticipate and respond to emerging threats.

He explained that the recommendation followed discussions at the 2024 Cambridge Conference on Electoral Democracy, where the use of AI-powered chatbots by election management bodies, particularly in Africa, was considered as a means of reducing the impact of misinformation and disinformation.

According to him, chatbots operating with officially verified information could help citizens obtain accurate answers to electoral questions and establish the authenticity of information circulating on social media.

Jega also stressed the importance of building public trust and confidence in the electoral process, urging stakeholders to establish a framework for rapid responses to emerging threats.

He said safeguarding electoral information against digital manipulation had become a critical responsibility as Nigeria approaches another general election.

In his remarks, EU Ambassador Gautier Mignot warned that artificial intelligence could make political deception easier to produce and increasingly difficult to detect.

He said elections could be undermined without the manipulation of a single ballot, noting that fabricated announcements, false results and misleading information could influence voters and erode confidence in democratic institutions.

Mignot, however, cautioned against using the fight against AI-generated misinformation as justification for censorship, restrictions on political dissent or attacks on press freedom.

He maintained that citizens must retain the right to question public institutions, while journalists must be allowed to investigate and report institutional failures without being labelled purveyors of misinformation.

“The legitimate threat of AI manipulation must never become a pretext for state overreach, digital censorship or suppression of political dissent,” he said.

The EU envoy identified three priorities for Nigeria ahead of the elections: preparing for information threats before electoral pressure intensifies, making partnerships among stakeholders operational and protecting democratic rights while safeguarding electoral information.

He called for clearly defined responsibilities, verification procedures and communication channels before election day, warning that waiting until voting begins could make responses to misinformation ineffective.

Mignot also emphasised the need to make credible electoral information accessible in local languages and to women, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.

Meanwhile, INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, said artificial intelligence should not be regarded as an enemy of democracy, arguing that its responsible application could improve electoral administration and strengthen democratic institutions.

Amupitan said AI-assisted technologies could help election management bodies identify duplicate entries in voter registers, improve logistics planning, analyse electoral data and enhance administrative efficiency.

He, however, warned that the growing accessibility of generative AI tools had significantly reduced the technical and financial barriers for individuals and groups seeking to manipulate the electoral process.

According to him, malicious actors could now easily clone the voices of public figures, produce realistic videos of election officials making false announcements and deploy automated accounts to create the impression of widespread public outrage.

He identified fabricated electoral directives, forged voter registration portals, misleading information about voter accreditation and false announcements about election results as potential threats ahead of the 2027 polls.

The INEC chairman warned that manipulated announcements concerning the cancellation of elections or fabricated results in strategic constituencies could trigger public unrest and weaken confidence in the electoral process.

He described the weaponisation of information as one of the most significant technological challenges facing modern democracy, adding that electoral information disorder also posed a threat to national security.

Amupitan called for a coordinated, rights-respecting response involving INEC, security agencies, media organisations, independent fact-checkers, civil society groups and technology platforms.

He stressed that public awareness campaigns alone would not be sufficient to confront sophisticated and coordinated digital manipulation, insisting on the need for institutions to anticipate threats, verify evidence, respond promptly and communicate authoritative information.

The INEC chairman also said the integrity of the 2027 elections would depend not only on the physical security of polling units but also on the authenticity of the information environment in which voters make their decisions.

The summit, convened by the International Press Centre (IPC), Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), International IDEA and DAI under the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria Programme, brought together more than 300 participants from electoral institutions, political parties, the media, security agencies, technology companies and civil society organisations.

Earlier, Executive Director of the International Press Centre, Dr Lanre Arogundade, said the summit was organised in response to growing concerns over the scale and sophistication of electoral misinformation.

Arogundade cited findings from the 2023 general elections, indicating that 63 per cent of presidential and National Assembly-related claims reviewed by the Nigeria Fact-Checkers’ Coalition were entirely false.

He also highlighted the growing influence of social media on political information consumption, noting that AI-generated content had increased concerns about the credibility of information available to voters.

He said the two-day gathering was expected to develop a common understanding of emerging threats, test stakeholder coordination through a simulation exercise, adopt an Electoral Information Integrity Response Protocol and establish a Nigeria Electoral Information Integrity Partnership.

Arogundade stressed that measures to protect electoral integrity must respect freedom of expression, media freedom, privacy and due process, adding that allegations of foreign interference must be supported by evidence rather than suspicion.

The summit is expected to produce an Abuja Commitment outlining responsibilities and timelines for stakeholders ahead of the 2027 general elections.