The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has charged editors across the country to resist premature declaration of election results and strengthen fact-checking and digital verification mechanisms ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The commission warned that publishing or amplifying privately collated results before their official declaration could create conflicting narratives, confuse voters and undermine confidence in the outcome of the elections.
In a statement signed by the chief press secretary/special adviser on Media to the INEC chairman, Adedayo Oketola, the commission said its chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), represented by the resident electoral commissioner for Enugu State, Dr Chukwuemeka Chukwu, gave the charge yesterday at the 22nd All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC) 2026 in Enugu.
Amupitan, who spoke on the theme, “The Ballot, the Media and the Task of Keeping Democracy Alive,” said the emergence of generative artificial intelligence, voice cloning, deepfake videos and automated bot networks had created new challenges for election reporting and information management.
He warned that malicious actors could use the technologies to manufacture convincing videos of electoral officials, clone the voices of INEC officials and produce manipulated result sheets designed to appear authentic.
“We have moved far beyond simple political bias, hyperbole, or unverified rumours into an era of synthetically manufactured reality. Generative artificial intelligence, voice cloning, deepfake video synthesis, and automated bot networks have democratised mass deception,” Amupitan said.
According to him, the danger posed by synthetic disinformation goes beyond the spread of individual falsehoods, as repeated exposure to convincing fake content could make citizens doubt even genuine information released by legitimate authorities.
“When deepfakes render lies believable, real truth is greeted with skepticism. Cynicism replaces civic engagement, leading voters to ask: Why stand in line for hours if the outcome is already manipulated on a screen? That mental retreat is where democracy begins to decay,” he said.
The INEC chairman therefore urged editors to institutionalise specialised fact-checking desks in their newsrooms and integrate digital verification tools into their daily editorial processes.
He also called for the use of deepfake detection software and forensic image-analysis tools to authenticate election-related photographs, videos, audio recordings and documents before publication.
Amupitan said editors must pay particular attention to information circulating on social media, where manipulated content could be widely distributed before journalists had an opportunity to establish its authenticity.
He further cautioned media organisations against publishing or amplifying privately collated election results ahead of official declarations by INEC.
“Let’s resist premature result declarations. Under the Electoral Act, statutory authority to declare election results rests exclusively with INEC,” he said.
The chairman warned that unverified figures released by political actors and circulated on social media could create competing versions of election outcomes and undermine confidence in the official results.
He urged editors to ensure that their platforms did not become channels for giving institutional credibility to unverified figures, fake result sheets or manipulated videos.
“The pressure on modern newsrooms to be first is immense. But in national elections, it is vastly more important to be right than to be first,” Amupitan said.
He added that rushing to publish unverified election claims could cause damage to public confidence and peace that would be difficult to reverse.
The INEC chairman called on the Nigerian Guild of Editors and media organisations to build a collaborative mechanism for identifying and responding to election-related disinformation before, during and after the 2027 elections.
He said the media had become an important component of election security because political contests were no longer fought only at polling units, but also in the information space.
“We should use our platforms to educate citizens on spotting synthetic content, fake letterheads, and algorithmically generated rage-bait,” he said.
On its own preparations to deal with the emerging technology-driven threats, Amupitan disclosed that INEC had established a dedicated Artificial Intelligence Division within its ICT Department.
He said the commission had also commenced the deployment of automated AI auditing tools within the Results Management process to detect discrepancies before final verification.
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According to him, the automated checks would remain subject to a five-pillar AI Governance Framework and mandatory human auditing.
Amupitan also disclosed that INEC had commenced a six-zone Interactive Meetings and Readiness Assessment tour, beginning in Lagos on September 7, as part of efforts to assess preparations for the 2027 elections.
On the welfare of journalists, the INEC chairman said the working conditions of media practitioners could affect the quality and independence of election reporting.
He urged media owners and managers to provide decent remuneration and structured welfare for journalists, warning that financial insecurity could expose practitioners to inducement and other pressures.
“A poorly compensated journalist is vulnerable; a financially neglected newsroom is fertile ground for compromise,” he said.
Amupitan disclosed that INEC had established the Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure (CEMBSS), separate from the regular Civil Service salary structure, with effect from January 1, 2026.
President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Eze Anaba, said the media had a responsibility to protect democracy by holding those in power accountable and providing space for diverse voices.
“We have a responsibility to ensure that our democracy survives. The media must hold power accountable and provide the space for diverse voices to be heard,” Anaba said.
He added, “The political actors alone are not in charge of our democracy, the judiciary and the media have a role to play to strengthen our democracy.”
The Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, urged INEC to establish a joint Rapid Response Desk involving newsrooms to quickly identify and dispel election misinformation.
Achebe also challenged editors to intensify voter education and address voter apathy by providing citizens with accurate and timely information on the electoral process.
Also speaking, Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, said a free press remained essential to genuine democracy.
Onaiyekan noted the growing diversity of Nigeria’s media landscape, including newspapers, radio, television and social media, but said the emergence of artificial intelligence had introduced both opportunities and dangers.
“Artificial intelligence, AI, is already working wonders in the communication space, though not without its dangers if it is allowed to spin out of human control,” he said.