Picture this: it’s a few days before South Africa’s local government elections on November 4, and you’re scrolling through social media. A photo appears in your feed—an elderly voter looking distressed outside a polling station, with a caption claiming that voting machines were tampered with in your ward. The image is shocking. It makes you angry. You share it, because it feels urgent. But here’s the problem: that photo was taken years ago, on a different continent, and the caption was written by someone who wants you to lose faith in the results. This is the new reality of elections. The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has already received more than 700 complaints about election-related misinformation ahead of the November vote. Most of these complaints are about posts on X (formerly Twitter), and a worrying number involve the misuse of photographs and artificial intelligence-generated content. That means deepfakes, doctored images, and fabricated audio are no longer science fiction—they are part of the political landscape. The IEC has been clear that none of these complaints has yet threatened the overall election environment, but the sheer volume is a warning. A country can have a technically perfect electoral process, with secure ballots and accurate counting, and still lose public trust if voters are drowning in lies. That is why the Commission is not just monitoring—it is stepping up.
To fight this wave of disinformation, the IEC has joined forces with some of the biggest names in tech: Google, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok, and Moxii Africa. This is not a symbolic handshake. It is a working partnership designed to protect the integrity of the electoral process as millions of South Africans prepare to head to the polls. The partnership builds on a similar framework used during the 2024 national and provincial elections, which means these companies already know the shape of the problem. They have seen how fast falsehoods spread, how easy it is to create realistic fake images, and how quickly a single misleading post can go viral before fact-checkers can respond. The goal now is to improve co-operation between the IEC, digital platforms, and civil society partners so that when false or misleading election-related content appears, there is a fast, co-ordinated response. In practical terms, that means platforms can flag suspicious content, remove it when it violates their policies, amplify official information, and help the IEC reach voters with accurate updates. It also means training for political parties and candidates, because sometimes disinformation is not coming from anonymous bots—it is coming from people who are supposed to be setting an example.
One of the most important tools in this effort is the recently gazetted Electoral Code of Conduct Countering Disinformation in the Local Government Elections, better known as the Disinformation Code. This code is not just a list of good intentions. It applies to political parties, candidates, and their representatives, and violations carry the same sanctions as those under the broader Electoral Code of Conduct. That is a serious legal consequence. Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo said access to digital platforms was essential to responding quickly to disinformation. His words are worth reading carefully: “Our partnership with digital platforms is critical to ensuring that voters have access to credible, accurate and trustworthy information to make informed political choices.” Then he added something even more sobering: “A technically flawless election can still lose public trust if citizens are overwhelmed by disinformation.” Those are not empty warnings. The penalties are real. Anyone found guilty of violating the Electoral Code of Conduct could face fines of up to R200,000, prison sentences of between five and ten years, or, in serious cases, the deregistration of candidates and political parties. That last one is a political death sentence. A party can lose its right to contest elections altogether. This is not about silencing criticism or punishing people who make honest mistakes. It is about drawing a line between legitimate political debate and deliberate manipulation designed to deceive voters.
So how will this partnership actually work on the ground? Under the agreement, the tech companies will support voter awareness campaigns, provide disinformation training, and work together to reduce the impact of false or misleading election-related content. That might sound like corporate jargon, but think about what it means in practice. Imagine a viral post claiming that voting stations will be open only for three hours, or that special votes have been cancelled, or that a candidate has dropped out of the race. Under this partnership, the platform can alert the IEC, the IEC can confirm the facts, and a corrective message can be issued quickly. Voter education messages can be pushed out in local languages, reaching people who might otherwise be left with only the lie. The platforms can also use their algorithms to demote content that has been verified as false, so it appears lower in feeds and gets fewer shares. And for voters, there is a clear way to report what they see. The IEC has designated the Real411 website and mobile application as key channels for reporting suspected election-related disinformation. Reports can be submitted in any of South Africa’s 11 official languages, which is crucial in a country where language is deeply connected to identity and trust. You do not need to be a tech expert or a lawyer to make a report. If you see something that feels wrong—a strange photo, a fake quote, a manipulated video—you can submit it quickly, and real human beings will investigate.
The process does not stop with a complaint. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, the Commission may refer cases to the Electoral Court, request urgent intervention from online platforms, or issue public statements to correct false information. That matters because silence is dangerous in an election. When a lie goes unanswered, it starts to look like the truth. The IEC understands that a public statement correcting misinformation is not an overreaction—it is a necessary act of transparency. But the Commission also knows that it cannot do this alone. The technology companies themselves have been vocal about why this partnership matters. Microsoft South Africa’s director of government affairs, Abongile Vanda, said free, fair, and credible elections depend on people being able to trust the information they encounter. “No single organisation can tackle disinformation alone,” he said, “which is why Microsoft is pleased to join the Electoral Commission in this partnership.” That line—no single organisation can tackle disinformation alone—should be the motto of this entire effort. It is not just about catching the bad actors after they have already caused damage. It is about building a system that makes it harder for disinformation to spread in the first place.
TikTok’s government relations and public policy lead for Southern Africa, Tholoana Ncheke-Mahlaela, said the platform would direct users to reliable election information through its in-app Election Centre and continue working with fact-checkers and the IEC. Google’s Sipho Mtombeni acknowledged that many people are worried about AI-generated content, and said Google is working on tools to help people distinguish accurate information from misinformation. Moxii Africa director William Bird put it simply: information integrity is fundamental to the credibility of any democratic process. All of these voices are saying the same thing in different ways. Everyone has a role. The IEC, the platforms, political parties, civil society, the media, and ordinary voters—we are all part of the information ecosystem. The collaboration announced by the IEC reflects a shared commitment to helping voters access trustworthy information ahead of November 4. It is not a perfect solution. It cannot stop every lie from being posted, nor can it force anyone to think critically. But it is a serious, co-ordinated attempt to protect the most important thing in any democracy: the ability of citizens to make informed choices without being manipulated. In the end, that is what this is really about. Not just stopping bad content, but preserving the trust that makes elections meaningful. When voters believe that their voices matter, they participate. When they are overwhelmed by lies, they withdraw. The fight against disinformation is, at its core, a fight for the people’s faith in their own power to choose—and that is a fight worth showing up for.