Every election is a story long before it becomes a result. In Osun State, that story is being written in living rooms, marketplaces, religious gatherings, and—above all—on millions of phone screens. With the governorship election scheduled for Saturday, 15 August 2026, the Nigerian Fact-Checkers’ Coalition (NFC) has opened its situation rooms in Abuja and Lagos, signalling a quiet but determined effort to protect the integrity of the information space around the vote. In a statement released on Thursday and signed by the coalition’s National Coordinator, David Ajikobi, the NFC announced that its members and volunteers would be watching closely for false and manipulated narratives that could incite violence, discourage citizens from voting, or erode public trust in the electoral process. The situation rooms are not just monitoring stations; they are nerve centres of a mission to ensure that truth has a fighting chance in an environment where lies can travel at the speed of a click. The coalition also confirmed that partner organisations, including Africa Check and the Digital Africa Research and Safety Lab (DigiAfricaLab), would be present on the ground in Osun State to observe the election firsthand and provide real-time assessments to the NFC’s coordination hubs. This dual structure—remote monitoring in the capital cities and physical presence in the field—reflects a growing understanding that misinformation no longer respects boundaries between online and offline spaces. What begins as a rumour in a WhatsApp group can become a violent confrontation in a community within hours. The NFC’s work, therefore, is not merely about correcting false facts; it is about protecting lives, safeguarding democracy, and giving voters the clarity they need to make choices based on reality rather than manipulation.
The coalition itself is a relatively young but formidable alliance, formed in June 2022 by organisations that are signatories to the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN). These founding members—Africa Check, CableCheck (published by The Cable), FactCheckHub, and DUBAWA—are joined in this effort by a broad network of partners, including the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (The ICIR), the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), FactsMatterNG, Digital Africa Research and Safety Lab, Alkalanci, The Continental, Round Check, WikkiTimes, and FactWatch. More than a list of names, this coalition represents an emerging “information immune system” for Nigerian democracy. The organisations bring different strengths: some specialise in deep investigative reporting, others in real-time debunking, still others in community engagement and media literacy. But they are united by a single conviction: citizens cannot exercise their democratic rights meaningfully if they are drowning in lies. The NFC is not starting from scratch. During the Ekiti State governorship election, the coalition tested and refined a model of collaboration and teamwork that proved effective in verifying and countering harmful narratives before they could gain traction. That experience has shaped the strategy for Osun. But the stakes are even higher now. With Nigeria’s 2027 general election approaching in a matter of months, the Osun election is not just an isolated event; it is a crucial rehearsal for a much larger national test. The battlefields may be different, the candidates may change, but the tactics of misinformation remain disturbingly consistent. By learning what works in Osun, the coalition is building a playbook that could help protect the entire country during the next electoral cycle.
Nowhere are the dangers more visible than in the realm of security-related misinformation. Osun State has seen its share of political tensions, and the period leading up to this election has been marked by anxiety. Kemi Busari, the Editor of DUBAWA Nigeria, did not sugar-coat the situation. “The security situation in Osun leading up to this election has been concerning,” he said. “We expect a lot of security-related misinformation and disinformation. We are already seeing some of them; some are even old or unrelated claims.” The recycling of old incidents, the re-contextualising of unrelated violence, and the deliberate fabrications designed to suggest that an area is under threat can all have devastating consequences. They can push people to stay away from polling units, provoke pre-emptive attacks, or create an atmosphere of chaos in which legitimate voices are drowned out. Busari’s hope is straightforward: “Our hope is that people vote freely and based on their choices. At NFC, we will be working towards availing them with accurate information to make that decision. We have a team of trained fact-checkers and editors monitoring the information space both online and offline, and we will be working with local partners to disseminate our reports.” His words capture a vital truth: fact-checking is not an intellectual exercise. It is a way of standing in the gap between fear and informed choice, between rumour and reality. The presence of partner organisations on the ground in Osun is particularly important because context matters. A story that seems plausible in a newsroom in Lagos may be obviously false to someone who lives in the community where it is supposed to have happened. Local knowledge is a form of verification in itself, and the coalition is wise to lean on it.
Artificial intelligence has dramatically changed the landscape of election misinformation, and the NFC is acutely aware of this new challenge. David Ajikobi spoke directly to these concerns, noting that advances in technology have made it faster, cheaper, and easier than ever before to create convincing false or misleading election content. “AI has made it faster, cheaper, and easier to create convincing false or misleading election content, from synthetic images and cloned voices to AI-generated text that mimics official statements,” he said. The implications are profound. A voter in Osun might receive a voice note supposedly from a religious leader or community elder urging them to vote a certain way—except the voice was generated by a computer. A photograph might circulate showing violence at a polling unit that never took place, manufactured with a few clicks and a free AI tool. A statement might appear to come from the Independent National Electoral Commission or a candidate’s campaign office, complete with logos and official language, yet be entirely fabricated. The speed of social media compounds the problem. A false claim can be shared across thousands of groups within minutes, often reaching more people than the correction ever will. Ajikobi explained that content which once required specialist skills can now be produced by almost anyone with a smartphone and access to AI tools. This democratisation of creation has also become a democratisation of deception. Nigerians, he warned, are likely to encounter more sophisticated election misinformation than ever before, making early detection, rapid verification, and credible correction more important than ever. This is why coordinated efforts like the NFC Situation Room are so crucial. By identifying false narratives before they gain wider traction, fact-checkers can interrupt the lifecycle of a lie, stopping it before it hardens into public belief. In the age of AI, the advantage often goes to the swift; the NFC is trying to ensure that truth is swift enough.
But the coalition understands that debunking individual falsehoods is not enough. The deeper goal is to build public confidence in the information environment itself, so that citizens do not have to rely on fact-checkers for every single piece of content they encounter. This is where Media and Information Literacy (MIL) activities come in. Throughout the election period, the NFC will be carrying out efforts to help Nigerians better understand and navigate the information landscape. These are not abstract lessons but practical sessions designed to equip citizens with the skills they need to identify misleading and manipulated content, assess the credibility of information sources, and make informed decisions about what they consume and share, both online and offline. Ajikobi explained that the coalition wants to go beyond simply correcting false information by helping Nigerians develop simple but powerful habits. “We also want them to develop simple habits such as pausing before sharing unverified information, checking claims against credible sources, and recognising manipulated or AI-generated content. Ultimately, the goal is to help Nigerians navigate the information environment more confidently and make informed decisions based on verified information.” That pause—the moment between seeing something and sharing it—can be revolutionary. It is the difference between being a passive conduit for propaganda and being an active participant in the democratic process. The NFC’s message is not that ordinary Nigerians are gullible; it is that even the most intelligent people can be deceived when they are tired, scared, or hurried. The habits of verification are a form of resilience, an immune response that everyone can learn. In a country where misinformation often targets communal anxieties—religion, ethnicity, scarcity, insecurity—these skills are not just helpful; they are essential.
As the election draws closer, the NFC has issued a call to action that extends far beyond its own membership. Voters, journalists, civil society organisations, and all other stakeholders are encouraged to verify election-related information before sharing it, especially content designed to provoke fear, anger, or confusion. These emotions are the fuel of misinformation; once they ignite, they are hard to extinguish. The coalition has also opened direct channels for the public to report suspicious content. People can share unverified information with the NFC Situation Rooms via WhatsApp on +2349030785265 or +2349083777789, or by email at [email protected]. This is not just a reporting mechanism; it is an invitation to participate in a shared project of civic care. Throughout the election period, verified reports and fact-checks will be disseminated through the coalition’s member organisations and partners, ensuring that accurate information reaches as many people as possible. In the end, the work of the NFC is about something deeper than fact-checking. It is about the right of every Nigerian to know what is true, to make decisions free from manipulation, and to cast a vote that reflects their genuine will. An election is not only a ceremony of ballots; it is an exercise in collective judgement. That judgement can only be sound if the information on which it is based is honest. The coalition’s situation rooms may be based in Abuja and Lagos, but their real home is in the minds and hearts of citizens who refuse to be deceived. In a democracy, the truth is not a luxury; it is the foundation on which everything else stands. As Osun goes to the polls, the Nigerian Fact-Checkers’ Coalition stands ready to defend that foundation—one claim, one correction, one citizen at a time.