There is a quiet but growing unease in Nigeria’s democratic space these days, and it has little to do with political rallies or economic forecasts. It has everything to do with the information that citizens see, hear, and trust. At a press conference in Abuja, the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN) stepped forward with a clear and urgent warning: as the country moves toward the 2027 general elections, the threat of artificial intelligence-driven misinformation and disinformation has become too dangerous to ignore. Professor Rotimi Williams Olatunji, the National President of ACSPN, did not simply announce an upcoming academic conference—he issued a call to action. In his address, he urged Nigerian media to strengthen their capacity to respond to a rapidly changing technological environment. The occasion was the association’s expected 2026 Annual Conference, which will be hosted at the National Open University of Nigeria in Abuja. Its theme, “Media, Technology and Elections in Africa: Navigating Digital Disruption and the New Dynamics of Electoral Communication,” captures the anxieties and opportunities of a moment when communication itself has become a battlefield. This is not just a scholarly conversation; it is a conversation about whether Nigerians can still trust what they see, hear, and read when they go to the polls.
The problem, as Olatunji made clear, is that the communication environment has shifted dramatically. Artificial intelligence, social media, digital platforms, and data-driven political communication are no longer future trends. They are the current reality. Citizens today receive political information through a fragmented and often chaotic ecosystem: memes, short videos, forwarded messages, AI-generated voice notes, synthetic images, and targeted digital campaigns. In this environment, the line between authentic content and manipulation has become dangerously thin. A convincing but fake video of a candidate saying something inflammatory can go viral within minutes. A fabricated audio recording can be used to portray an opponent as corrupt or dangerous. Political operatives can use data analytics to micro-target vulnerable voters with personalized disinformation, exploiting fears, biases, and frustrations. The effect is not just confusion; it is the erosion of trust in the electoral process itself. Olatunji stressed that the media must play a critical role in interrogating data, identifying misinformation and disinformation, and helping citizens distinguish between authentic and manipulated content. This is no small task. It requires journalists to think like investigators, technologists, and educators at the same time. The stakes are enormous, because an election shaped by lies and manipulation is not truly an election at all. It is a failure of the public sphere.
But Olatunji was not simply describing the scale of the problem; he was also pointing toward a path forward. The media, he argued, needs stronger capacity to identify AI-generated content, including manipulated videos, fabricated audio recordings, and other forms of digital deception that could influence voters. This means more than traditional fact-checking. It means investing in new tools, training, and editorial practices. Journalists need to understand how deepfakes are made, how bots are deployed, and how algorithms amplify falsehoods. Newsrooms need to create mechanisms for rapid verification and responsible reporting. They also need to educate the public, because a media system that merely exposes lies without helping citizens think critically about what they consume is incomplete. In a country as large and diverse as Nigeria, where trust in institutions is often fragile, the media is more than a reporter of events; it is a guardian of shared reality. If that guardian fails, voters are left to navigate a hall of mirrors where every claim is suspicious and every image is questionable. The 2027 elections will be a test not only of political parties and candidates, but of the media’s willingness and ability to protect the integrity of information. Olatunji’s call to the media, then, is not a suggestion. It is a demand for preparedness.
At the heart of his message, however, was a deeper point about collaboration. Olatunji described communication scholars and media practitioners as two wings of one bird. It is a powerful metaphor. A bird with one wing cannot fly, no matter how strong that wing may be. In Nigeria, there has often been a gap between the academic study of communication and the daily practice of journalism. Scholars produce rigorous research, but their insights sometimes remain buried in journals and conference papers. Journalists work under pressure, with deadlines and limited resources, and they often lack the time or access to engage deeply with academic findings. Olatunji argued that this gap must be closed. Communication scholars should make their research and expertise more accessible to journalists, policymakers, and ordinary citizens. The media, in turn, should help bring important academic and public-interest discussions beyond the walls of conference halls. This collaboration also extends to technology experts, civil society organizations, and policymakers. The challenges posed by AI and digital disinformation are too complex for any one sector to solve alone. Governments must create regulations that protect citizens without silencing legitimate speech. Platforms must be transparent about their algorithms and content moderation policies. Tech companies must build systems that prioritize integrity over engagement. The media must hold all of these actors accountable. Olatunji’s vision is not a simple message of warning; it is a vision of a united front against a common threat.
The upcoming ACSPN Annual Conference is intended to be a meeting ground for this united front. It will bring together communication scholars, media professionals, policymakers, and other stakeholders to examine the changing relationship between technology, communication, and elections in Nigeria and across Africa. The conference will explore digital campaigning, artificial intelligence, misinformation, disinformation, data analytics, social media, and the broader dynamics of electoral communication. These are not abstract themes. They are the very forces that will shape how Nigerians receive and interpret political messages in the run-up to 2027. The conference will also serve a more symbolic purpose. ACSPN is introducing Fellowship and Special Awards to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to communication scholarship, professional practice, and national development. This is about preserving institutional memory and encouraging intergenerational mentorship within the association. It is a recognition that the fight for credible elections and healthy public discourse is not a single-generation project. By honoring those who have come before, ACSPN is building a foundation for those who will come after. Olatunji made it clear that the association is committed to contributing its intellectual and professional resources to building a more informed, inclusive, peaceful, and credible electoral process. The conference is an opportunity to take stock, to learn, and to strategize—but it is also a reminder that the time to act is now.
Ultimately, this is not just about one election or one association. It is about the future of democracy in Nigeria and Africa. Elections are more than administrative exercises; they are moments of collective decision-making, moments when a nation comes together to choose its direction. But that choice is only meaningful if citizens can trust the information that guides them. When AI-driven disinformation floods the digital space, when fabricated videos go viral, when political actors use every tool at their disposal to distort reality, the very foundation of democratic legitimacy is threatened. ACSPN’s message to the Nigerian media is simple but profound: act now, prepare now, and do not wait until the 2027 elections are upon us. Technology will not slow down, and neither should the response. The media must be proactive, resilient, and creative. It must build alliances with scholars, technologists, and the public. It must champion fact-based discourse and hold political actors and institutions accountable. The 2026 conference will provide a platform for these conversations, but the real work will happen in newsrooms, on digital platforms, and in communities across the country. The question is whether Nigerian media will rise to this challenge. ACSPN, through its voice and its vision, is saying that they must. The road to 2027 is already being paved with information—and it is up to everyone to decide whether that road leads to understanding or confusion, to unity or division, to a credible election or a crisis of trust.