It has probably crossed your screen by now. If you spend any time on social media, you have almost certainly seen the post: a photograph of a woman, overwrought and desperate, with a caption that tells a story so neatly packaged that it practically begs to be shared. The story goes something like this. A French left-wing activist, a lifelong defender of migrants, watched her world collapse when the very people she had championed came to destroy her. They looted her shop, they beat her, they spat on her, they trampled her beneath their feet. She had spent her life…

Democracy has always been a trust exercise. It assumes that voters will have access to honest information, that candidates will play by the rules, and that the systems around an election will protect the public’s right to know the truth. But in a hyperconnected world, that trust can be shattered by a single viral lie. With the local government elections set to take place on November 4, South Africa’s Electoral Commission (IEC) is taking the threat of disinformation seriously, and it is not doing so alone. The IEC has announced a powerful new partnership with some of the biggest names…