On January 29, 2024, the Information Regulator organised a webinar to discuss the risks of false information in elections. They focused on “disinformation,” which is intentionally misleading false information, and “misinformation,” which is innocently sharing false information believing it to be the truth. The panel included representatives from the Information Regulator, the CEO of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Media Monitoring Africa (MMA), and the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria.
Advocate Tlakula, the chairperson of the Information Regulator, highlighted the ease with which disinformation can spread, using the example of deepfakes creating false and explicit images of Taylor Swift. She mentioned the regulator’s 2019 guidance on “Processing voter information”, emphasising the need for updates to the guideline due to advancements in technology. The revised guidelines should address the threat of publishing false information, steps for political parties and consumers to counter it, and the misuse of personal information in campaigns.
As this is an election year the urgency is obvious.
The consensus among the panellists was that addressing these challenges requires the involvement of various stakeholders. Efforts are needed to train politicians, educate the public to distinguish between truth and falsehood misrepresentations, and use platforms like Real411.org (originally developed to allow reporting of Covid disinformation) to report digital offences and harm during elections.
The IEC developed the Padre’s website to allow political parties and independent candidates to publish their official election materials and allow voters to consult these. This allows voters to fact-check information provided by political parties. Sadly, the participation of political parties in this initiative has, up to now, been disappointing.
Regulator’s undertakings
Advocate Tlakula undertook that the regulator would lead a multidisciplinary effort to limit personal information abuse and ensuring accurate information in the elections. This is a noble undertaking and deserves full support of us all.
Recommendations
We noted the absence of social media representation in the webinar and believe that their presence in further efforts to combat disinformation is vital. We also strongly suggest that involving experts in artificial intelligence (AI) to assist in combatting AI-generated disinformation, is also crucial to the success of the Advocate Tlakula’s efforts.
