The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has partnered with Google, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok and non-profit organisation Moxii Africa to combat disinformation and protect the integrity of next month’s local government elections.
The initiative aims to address deliberate misinformation campaigns and harmful content circulating on digital platforms during the election period.
IEC Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo said the partnership gives the commission direct access to the platforms and a stronger ability to respond to election-related disinformation.
“Our partnership with digital platforms is critical to ensuring that voters have access to credible, accurate and trustworthy information to make informed political choices,” Mamabolo said.
He added that informed political choices depend on the free flow of accurate information.
The IEC has received more than 700 complaints about election-related content ahead of the polls, most of them linked to posts on X. Mamabolo said some complaints involve the unauthorised use of images generated or manipulated using artificial intelligence, although these have not yet significantly disrupted the electoral environment.
He warned that violations could result in fines of up to R200,000, prison sentences ranging from five to ten years, or the deregistration of candidates or political parties, depending on the offence and applicable legal provisions.
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