With less than three weeks to go before South Africans cast their votes, the Electoral Commission of South Africa is bracing for something that cannot be counted by ballot paper or monitored at a voting station: the slow, corrosive spread of lies. On 4 November, millions of citizens will head to the polls for the local government elections, a moment that should be defined by choices and hope. But in the digital age, it is also a moment vulnerable to manipulation. The IEC has received more than 700 complaints about election-related misinformation, and the vast majority of those complaints are connected to posts on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. This is not just a statistic. Behind each complaint is a person who saw something false and knew it was wrong, or worse, believed it and was misled. The nature of these complaints is deeply concerning: old photographs being reused out of context, images cleverly altered to make it seem as though something happened when it never did, and AI-generated content so sophisticated that many ordinary voters simply cannot tell the difference between a truth and a fabrication. In response, the IEC has joined forces with Google, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok and Moxii Africa, an unusually broad coalition uniting state institutions, global tech companies and civil society in a shared attempt to keep the democratic process honest.
What makes these 700 complaints so troubling is not simply the number, but the way they prey on everyday human confusion. Imagine scrolling through your phone, seeing a picture of a political leader standing beside a pile of cash, or hearing a voice that sounds exactly like a candidate saying something inflammatory. In today’s world, that picture might be a hundred years old, and that voice might be a digital fake. IEC officials have confirmed that many complaints involve the misuse of photographs and AI-generated content, and this is precisely the kind of disinformation that is hardest to fight. A lie travels quickly, and by the time it is debunked, it has already shaped how people think. Still, officials have stressed that none of the incidents so far poses a fundamental threat to the overall election environment. That is encouraging, but it is not a reason to relax. Instead, it is a reason to act now, before the problem grows worse. The partnership with major digital platforms is therefore not a panic measure; it is a precautionary move designed to place the IEC on the front foot. As Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo has said, a technically flawless election can still lose public trust if citizens are overwhelmed by disinformation. This is the heart of the challenge. People must not only be able to vote; they must feel that their vote matters, that the information they used to make their choice was reliable, and that the entire process is not a game being played at their expense.
This effort is not starting from nothing. The IEC has built on a similar framework used during the 2024 National and Provincial Elections, and the new partnership is part of a broader strategy to protect the credibility of the electoral process. A central pillar is the newly gazetted Electoral Code of Conduct Countering Disinformation in the Local Government Elections, commonly called the Disinformation Code. This code is not a set of vague recommendations; it has real legal weight. It applies to political parties, candidates and their representatives, and it carries exactly the same sanctions as the broader Electoral Code of Conduct. That means those who spread false information deliberately can be held accountable. Mamabolo made the stakes clear when he said that voter access to credible, accurate and trustworthy information is critical to making informed political choices. He also warned that anyone found guilty of violating the Electoral Code of Conduct could face serious consequences. These include fines up to R200,000, prison sentences ranging from five to ten years, or in the most serious cases, deregistration of candidates and political parties. The message is unmistakable: disinformation is not merely a nuisance; it is a threat to democratic integrity, and it will be treated as such. The involvement of major platforms gives the Commission a crucial advantage, eliminating barriers to direct access and allowing for instantaneous remedial action against those who try to deceive the public.
Under the agreement, the partners have committed to working together in good faith throughout the election period. They will support voter awareness campaigns, provide training on disinformation and collaborate on initiatives aimed at reducing the impact of false or misleading election-related content. For ordinary South Africans, one of the most meaningful tools is the Real411 platform, which has been designated as the key mechanism for reporting election-related disinformation. Anyone can use the Real411 website or mobile application to report a suspicious post, image or video, and they can do so in any of South Africa’s eleven official languages. This is important because it puts power back into the hands of ordinary people. You do not need to be a tech expert or a lawyer to push back against disinformation; you just need to know where to report it. Once a report is submitted, the IEC can investigate and determine whether the matter should be referred to the Electoral Court for sanctions. It can also request urgent intervention from online platforms, asking them to take down harmful content before it spreads further, or it can issue public statements to correct false information. This multi-layered approach recognises that disinformation is not a single problem with a single solution. It moves across borders, platforms and languages, so the response must be just as flexible and far-reaching. Above all, the partnership acknowledges that protecting the truth is not the job of one institution alone. It requires a coordinated effort between the state, civil society and the technology companies that control the digital spaces where these lies are spread.
The technology companies themselves have responded with a sense of responsibility that is rarely seen in the competitive world of social media. Microsoft South Africa’s Director of Government Affairs, Abongile Vanda, spoke for many when he said that free, fair and credible elections depend on people being able to trust the information they see. He acknowledged that no single organisation can tackle disinformation alone, which is precisely why Microsoft is pleased to join the Electoral Commission in this partnership. TikTok’s Government Relations and Public Policy Lead for Southern Africa, Tholoana Ncheke-Mahlaela, said the platform would continue directing users to reliable election information through its in-app Election Centre, while also working closely with fact-checkers and the IEC. Google’s Sipho Mtombeni addressed the growing anxiety around artificial intelligence, noting that the company is working hard to provide people with tools to distinguish accurate information from generated misinformation. He acknowledged that as people head to the polls, a lot of concerns arise in relation to AI and AI-generated content, and that Google is determined to help. William Bird of Moxii Africa connected the issue to the very essence of democracy, arguing that information integrity is fundamental to the credibility of any democratic process. These statements reflect a deeper understanding that the platforms that helped shape the digital world now have a moral obligation to protect it. They are not neutral bystanders; they are gatekeepers of public discourse, and their cooperation in this partnership could make an enormous difference in what voters see, read and ultimately believe.
As the clock ticks down to 4 November, this collaboration stands as a powerful reminder of what can happen when different sectors of society come together for a greater cause. It is not about punishing people for asking questions, nor is it about silencing legitimate debate. It is about ensuring that the information landscape is clean enough for voters to make real choices. The IEC has made it clear that this partnership reflects a shared commitment to protecting the democratic process, and that South Africans should be able to participate in the 2026 Local Government Elections with confidence. There is no guarantee that every lie will be caught or that every deepfake will be exposed before it has a chance to spread. In a country of more than sixty million people, with eleven official languages and countless online communities, the challenge is immense. But the effort itself is a statement. It says that democracy is not just about voting; it is about having meaningful, truthful conversations before the vote. It says that ordinary citizens deserve better than to be manipulated by algorithms and hidden actors. And it says that while no single organisation can protect the truth alone, together they can build a shield strong enough to give millions of South Africans the faith they need to go to the polls, cast their ballots and know that their voices matter. In the end, that is the real prize — not just a technically smooth election, but one that people can trust with their hearts and minds.