The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has established a dedicated Artificial Intelligence unit and begun deploying ChatGPT as part of efforts to combat AI-driven disinformation and protect the integrity of the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, disclosed this at the National Summit on Electoral Information Integrity in Abuja, warning that artificial intelligence had created new threats capable of undermining elections long before voters arrive at polling units.
The summit, themed Beyond the Ballot: AI, FIMI and the Integrity of the Nigerian 2027 Elections, brought together election officials, media executives, security agencies, civil society organisations and technology stakeholders.
Amupitan said the Commission was strengthening its technological and institutional capacity to prevent malicious actors from using AI to impersonate election officials, circulate fake results, fabricate election directives and manipulate public opinion.
“Today, elections can be undermined long before the first ballot is cast,” he said. “The threat is no longer limited to physical interference, such as violent ballot snatching at polling units. It takes shape within digital networks through synthetic media, automated misinformation and disinformation.”
He said the growing accessibility of generative AI had made sophisticated manipulation cheaper and easier, allowing individuals and organised groups to create cloned voices, realistic videos and automated networks capable of spreading false information.
According to him, technologies once associated with state-level intelligence operations are now increasingly available to ordinary users at relatively low costs.
The INEC chairman warned that artificial intelligence could be used to generate convincing videos or audio recordings purportedly showing election officials announcing results, cancelling elections or postponing voting in strategic locations.
He said such fabricated content could mislead voters, heighten political tension and potentially trigger violence before INEC completes its official collation and declaration of results.
“Because of the danger of AI, it is possible for anybody in his room or her room to just begin to put results, AI-generated results that are not derived from authentic results that come from the polling unit,” Amupitan said.
He stressed that INEC remains the legally authorised institution responsible for announcing election results but acknowledged the difficulty of preventing the rapid spread of fabricated figures across social media platforms.
Amupitan said the Commission had established its AI unit to monitor emerging technologies, assess potential threats and develop safeguards against digital manipulation.
He added that INEC was deploying ChatGPT to strengthen its response to misinformation and improve strategic crisis communication.
The Commission, he said, was also building the capacity of its ICT, voter education and communications departments to monitor information channels, identify coordinated manipulation and verify suspicious digital content.
Amupitan disclosed that INEC was working with international partners, including the European Union, to develop a coordinated communication network for responding rapidly to false information and emerging electoral threats.
He said the Commission already had memoranda of understanding with some technology companies, particularly TikTok, while seeking stronger collaboration with other major digital platforms.
The chairman warned that conventional fact-checking may no longer be sufficient in an era when manipulated content can spread across digital platforms within minutes.
“Our primary concern is that while technology evolves at the speed of light, the truth often travels at the speed of trust,” he said.
Amupitan also raised concerns over what he described as the “liar’s dividend”, where the widespread existence of AI-generated content could make the public doubt even genuine evidence and authentic official communications.
He cited the 2023 Slovak parliamentary election as an example of how manipulated audio could influence public perception shortly before voting, particularly during periods when political actors and authorities have limited opportunities to respond.
The INEC chairman warned that similar tactics could emerge during Nigeria’s 2027 elections, including the circulation of cloned voices, manipulated videos and fabricated campaign materials.
He also identified the continuous voter registration exercise as a potential target for digital manipulation through fake registration portals, fraudulent operational directives and misleading claims about voter registration figures.
Amupitan said INEC was reviewing security concerns associated with digital registration processes to prevent impersonation and other attempts to compromise the credibility of the exercise.
While acknowledging the benefits of emerging technologies, he cautioned that technology alone could not guarantee credible elections.
“AI cannot police the truth alone,” he said, stressing the need for collaboration among INEC, security agencies, telecommunications companies, journalists, civil society organisations, fact-checkers and technology platforms.
He charged journalists to place accuracy above speed in reporting electoral information, declaring that “speed is important, but accuracy is the currency of democracy.”
The INEC chairman also called for improved digital literacy, particularly among rural communities, and urged stakeholders to educate citizens on how to distinguish genuine electoral information from AI-generated videos, cloned audio and fabricated documents.
With the 2027 elections approaching, Amupitan said protecting the credibility of the electoral process would require more than investments in technology.
He said institutional transparency, public trust and collaboration among key stakeholders would be critical as the battle to protect Nigeria’s elections increasingly shifts from polling units and collation centres to smartphones and the wider digital information space.
