Times of uncertainty provide fertile ground for the spread of false information. This was evident during the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2024 national and provincial elections and the recent anti-migrant protests across the country.

With the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) already warning against fake IEC recruitment ads and websites impersonating its domain, the municipal elections in November are likely to face similar disinformation threats.

Adding to the challenge, AI is making it easier than ever to create convincing deepfake videos, manipulate images and share false information at scale – making it even more important for South African citizens to know how to spot disinformation in the lead-up to, during and after the elections.

False claims that typically spread at election time

The same themes often repeat themselves in election-related disinformation. Besides IEC job scams, the disinformation usually includes false claims related to:

• Ballot papers that have allegedly been pre-filled with votes or ballot boxes that have been tampered with (in the 2024 national election, a false claim that the ink of pens provided by the IEC evaporated also did the rounds)
• Allegations that some votes weren’t counted or that votes were counted more than once
• Allegations that foreign nationals are contesting in the elections or registering to vote
• Rumours that certain politicians or political parties won’t be taking part in the elections anymore due to ill...

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