2027: Don’t Let Deepfakes Steal Our Votes

The warning has been issued, and it is loud enough. The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has told Nigerians that artificial intelligence-driven disinformation may become the biggest threat to the credibility of the 2027 general elections. The Commission must be heard this time, no matter the misgivings we have about it.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, said recently that advances in AI have made it easy to produce false videos, audio and images that look real. In his words, such materials can reach millions before the truth catches up. That is the danger.

This is not the fake news we have battled in past elections. We know that one. In 2023, the social media space was awash with doctored photographs, misleading headlines and outright fabrications aimed at influencing voters. Some videos claimed ballot boxes were being snatched in places where voting had not even started. Others purported to show party agents bribing voters. Fact-checkers worked round the clock to debunk them, but the damage was already done in the minds of many.

Generative AI takes that problem to another level. Now you do not need an editing studio to fake evidence. With a few prompts, a politician can be made to say what he never said. A candidate can be made to insult a faith or an ethnic group. A video can show INEC officials thumb-printing ballots. An artificial voice can impersonate the President, a Governor, or even the INEC Chairman himself announcing a postponement or a result.

By the time you are saying “this is fake,” the lie has gone viral. By the time you are bringing evidence, trust has been broken.

That is why we say: Nigeria cannot afford to treat this warning as another routine advisory from INEC. The stakes in 2027 are already high. The political temperature is rising. Public officers are already making statements capable of heating up the polity. If we now add deepfakes to the mix, we may be inviting chaos.

Let us be clear. Democracy cannot survive where citizens cannot tell truth from lie. In such an environment, even genuine evidence will be dismissed as “AI.” A candidate caught on camera making an inciting statement will simply say “it is deepfake.” A genuine result will be challenged as “digital manipulation.” When everything becomes suspect, nothing stands. And that is how democracy becomes a casualty.

We must do something about this impending threat. And urgently too.

First, INEC must act now. The Commission needs money, technology and partnerships to fight this battle. The federal government must fund it. The National Assembly must review our laws. Do we have provisions that punish the deliberate creation and circulation of AI-generated electoral lies without gagging free speech? If not, let the law be made.

Second, political parties bear the greatest burden. They must lead by example. The culture of “anything goes” must stop. Party leaders must call their members to order. Any campaign organization caught manufacturing deepfakes must be sanctioned and publicly named. You cannot build a nation by destroying trust.

Third, the tech platforms: Facebook, X, TikTok, WhatsApp and YouTube have a duty to strengthen their systems to detect manipulated political content, label it clearly and take it down fast. They should work with INEC, the media, and the fact-checkers. We make bold to say that Nigeria is not a laboratory for their algorithms.

Fourth, the media and citizens should up their game. The newsroom must resist the temptation to publish first and verify later. In the age of AI, speed without verification is propaganda. The media should therefore invest in tools to detect manipulated audio and video.

We urge Nigerians to develop a culture of pause. Ask questions before you forward that sensational video or voice note. Who made this? Where did it come from? Are credible media reporting it? Has the person spoken? Is there proof? It is important to know that one click can set a community on fire.

INEC should also, in partnership with credible media and civil society, set up a rapid response verification desk. A claim that reaches 5 million people in one hour cannot wait three days for a press release to counter it.

We reiterate our stand that the 2027 election must be about ideas, about records, about who can serve Nigeria better. It must not degenerate into a contest of who can manufacture the most convincing lie.

AI can help our democracy. It can help with voter education, with data, with logistics. But in the wrong hands, it becomes a weapon.

Government, parties, media, tech companies and citizens must not hesitate to respond to this red flag raised by INEC.

Let us act now, before the first deepfake of the 2027 campaign drops and millions of Nigerians are forced to choose between truth and a lie they cannot tell apart.