The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), and International Press Centre (IPC) have called on Nigerian journalists to strengthen fact-checking practices amid rising concerns over deepfakes and AI-driven disinformation. The appeal followed a Technical Summit on Elevating Fact-Checking Capabilities held by CEMESO in Abuja. Stakeholders warned that Nigeria's electoral information environment is increasingly vulnerable to manipulation through synthetic media and coordinated digital propaganda.
Stella Erhunmwunsee, NBC's Director of Broadcast Policy and Research, spoke on behalf of the Director-General. She stated that misinformation and disinformation now threaten national stability, democratic legitimacy, and public trust. "We are operating in an information environment that is increasingly complex, fast-moving and, at times, volatile," she said. According to her, distorted information compromises public perception and endangers democratic outcomes.
Erhunmwunsee emphasized that fact-checking must shift from being optional to a core professional duty. She called for proactive, continuous, and technologically enabled verification systems within newsrooms. The NBC official described the launch of an AI Fact-Checking Tool Guide at the summit as a step toward accountability. She warned that technology alone cannot curb disinformation without ethical discipline among journalists.
Akin Akingbulu, Executive Director of CEMESO, said AI has "industrialised the production of disinformation." He noted a global increase of over 500 percent in deepfake content between 2019 and 2023, with Nigeria already affected. Examples included AI-generated videos showing international celebrities endorsing candidates in the 2023 elections and cloned audio of political figures. Akingbulu cited a synthetic video in June 2025 designed to inflame farming and herding conflicts in Benue State.
He also mentioned AI-generated clips of foreign leaders discussing Nigerian oil and politics, which gained hundreds of thousands of views. Voter turnout in the 2023 general elections dropped to 27 percent, a trend he linked to disinformation. Akingbulu warned the 2027 polls could face "the most technologically complex disinformation campaign in African history" without urgent action. CEMESO's haltfake.org initiative is tracking AI-driven misinformation, and Campus Newsroom Labs will be established in tertiary institutions to train young journalists.
Lanre Arogundade, Executive Director of IPC, said AI advancements have made information verification significantly more difficult.
Akin Akingbulu warns of an unprecedented disinformation crisis ahead of 2027, yet his own organisation only began tracking deepfakes after AI had already influenced the 2023 election. The 27 percent voter turnout in that election suggests many Nigerians may have already disengaged due to manipulated narratives. If synthetic content helped suppress participation then, the planned Campus Newsroom Labs are reactive, not preventive. Nigerian journalists are now being asked to catch up with threats that have already reshaped public belief.
Editorial note: AI-assisted opinion, not established fact. Full disclaimer →
