Imagine waking up one morning to a voice note from a relative urging you not to vote because “the election has been cancelled,” or watching a video of an electoral official confessing to a fraud that never happened. It sounds like the plot of a dystopian film, but Nigeria’s electoral commission says this is exactly the kind of scenario that could become common in the 2027 general elections if citizens are not careful. The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has issued a serious warning: the misuse of generative artificial intelligence is no longer a distant or theoretical threat, but a clear and present danger to the credibility of upcoming elections. In simple terms, generative AI is the technology that can create highly realistic fake audio, video, and images. It can put words in a person’s mouth, make a politician appear to say something they never said, or create an entirely false scene that looks completely real. The commission warned that such manipulated content, alongside targeted messaging designed to give different groups of voters completely different stories, could poison the information environment and undermine trust in the electoral process. The warning was delivered by Mohammed Kudu Haruna, National Commissioner and Chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, at a capacity-building workshop in Abuja for the commission’s Public Affairs Officers from across the country. These officers are the people who speak to the public on behalf of INEC, and the workshop was organised to prepare them for the challenges of communicating truthfully and responsibly in a rapidly changing digital world.
The threat posed by generative AI, Haruna explained, goes far beyond the creation of fake photographs or doctored videos. Yes, it is now cheaper and easier than ever to produce manipulated content, and the technology has become so sophisticated that detecting what is real and what is fake is extremely difficult, even for experts. But the more dangerous misuse is the way AI can be used to target different groups of voters with conflicting messages. Imagine, for instance, two voters living in the same state, each receiving a different version of the same event. One sees a video that makes a candidate look heroic, while another sees an image that makes the same candidate look corrupt. Both believe they are seeing the truth, but both have been manipulated. This kind of targeted messaging can deliberately confuse people, deepen divisions, and influence the way voters make decisions. When elections are decided based on falsehoods rather than facts, democracy itself is weakened. Haruna stressed that INEC is not crying wolf, and that the commission is genuinely worried about how generative AI could be used to shape the information environment around elections. At its core, the threat is not just about technology, but about truth, trust, and the very foundation of free and fair elections. If voters cannot trust what they see, hear, and read, then no amount of secure ballot papers or electronic accreditation systems will save the credibility of the process. That is why INEC is calling for urgent action, not only from electoral officials but from all citizens and institutions that care about democratic integrity.
INEC’s Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, has reportedly been warning about this for some time, and his message is both simple and profound: electoral credibility no longer depends solely on ballot papers, the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, commonly known as BVAS, or result sheets. Those things are still important, of course, but they are no longer enough. In today’s digital age, the information environment in which voters form their judgments is just as critical. If voters are flooded with fake news, manipulated videos, and targeted disinformation, they may lose faith in the entire election process, regardless of how well the voting technology works. Amupitan has therefore called for electoral technology and communication to be treated as interconnected, not separate, parts of the electoral process. This is a forward-thinking perspective because it recognises that election management is no longer just about logistics and technology; it is also about managing the flow of information and ensuring that citizens have access to accurate, verified, and credible content. An election can be perfectly organised, with ballot papers arriving on time and accreditation machines working perfectly, but if lies and false narratives dominate the public conversation, those technical achievements may not matter. People vote based on the information they receive, and if that information is polluted, the credibility of the outcome will be questioned. That is why INEC is investing in communication and in the people responsible for delivering accurate information to the public.
The workshop, with the theme “Strengthening PAOs Capacity for Credible, Verified and Responsible Election Communication Towards 2027,” was designed to address these emerging challenges head-on. Public Affairs Officers are the frontline communicators of INEC at the state level. They are the voices of the commission in local communities, the people reporters call when they need a comment, and the officials who help explain electoral procedures to ordinary Nigerians. The credibility of INEC’s communication depends largely on the quality of their work. If they make mistakes, if they are slow to respond, or if they fail to verify information before sharing it, the consequences can be severe. Rumours can spread quickly, false accusations can go viral, and public trust can be damaged in a matter of minutes. That is why the workshop focused on practical skills, such as verification, escalation procedures, and clear and consistent messaging. Participants were trained to identify manipulated content, to verify information before publishing or sharing it, and to know where to escalate issues when they encounter suspicious or misleading material. They were also encouraged to communicate with one consistent voice, so that the message being delivered in Lagos is the same as the one being delivered in Kano, Enugu, and every other state. In an era of deepfakes and viral misinformation, clarity and consistency are powerful tools.
Victoria Eta-Messi, the Director of Voter Education and Publicity, reminded participants that their work has a direct impact on how Nigerians perceive INEC and the reliability of the information the commission releases. She noted that INEC operates under constant public scrutiny, and that there are always individuals and groups trying to misrepresent its activities and undermine public confidence in the electoral process. This is not an abstract concern. Since the 2023 general elections, there have been numerous attempts to use social media to spread false stories about INEC, from fabricated statements attributed to officials to manipulated images of election materials. These attempts are likely to become more sophisticated as generative AI becomes more advanced and accessible. Eta-Messi described the training as the beginning of a sustained engagement, not a one-off exercise. She revealed that further capacity-building programmes are already at an advanced stage of planning, with support from development partners. This is a welcome sign because the fight against electoral disinformation cannot be won in a single workshop. It requires continuous learning, collaboration, and adaptation to new threats. It also requires a commitment from all INEC staff, at every level, to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and integrity. The public affairs officers, she said, are the bridge between INEC and the Nigerian public, and that bridge must be built on a foundation of truth and trust.
In his own remarks, the Deputy Director of Information and Publicity, Wilfred Ifogah, said the training was specifically designed to strengthen the practical communication skills that Public Affairs Officers need in their daily work and in the lead-up to the 2027 elections. He emphasised the importance of clear reporting lines and escalation channels among PAOs, heads of department, the Voter Education and Publicity department, and Resident Electoral Commissioners. When a fake story breaks, time is of the essence. A delayed response can allow a lie to spread, while a quick and coordinated response can stop it in its tracks. Ifogah’s message was practical, but it also touched on something deeper: the human side of communication. Behind every official statement is a team of people trying to do the right thing in a high-pressure environment. They are not just bureaucrats pushing paper; they are citizens too, voters, parents, neighbours, and they care deeply about the integrity of the democratic process. The challenge they face is enormous, but so is their responsibility. They are not just protecting INEC’s reputation; they are protecting the credibility of every election and the voice of every Nigerian voter. In the end, the fight for credible elections in 2027 will not be won only at the polling units or the collation centres. It will be won in the information space, in the way we verify facts, in the way we challenge falsehoods, and in the way we refuse to let fear and manipulation dictate our choices. INEC has done its part by warning the nation and training its public affairs officers, but ordinary citizens must also share the responsibility. We must all become more media-literate, more skeptical of suspicious content, and more committed to seeking the truth, even when the truth is difficult to find. Only then can we protect Nigeria’s democracy from the invisible enemy of deepfakes and algorithmic polarisation.