The Electoral Commission (IEC)has identified growing attempts to impugn the integrity of the election process, especially via social media.
This is according to chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo, briefing media on the progress of the municipal elections.
South Africans went to the polls this week to elect local government leadership. Monday and Tuesday were dedicated to special votes, while the rest of the voting public cast their votes on Wednesday.
According to Mamabolo,some of the identified incidents involved posting videos of IEC presiding officers and staff without context, alongside claims that something untoward is happening.
“We urge citizens not to take any such social posts at face value, and to check the context before sharing. If you come across content that looks false or misleading, including AI-generated material, report it at https://real411.org.za/.”
The IEC’s Real411 platform registered 34 complaints of misinformation/disinformation, incitement to violence, hate speech and harassment.
“The most dominant platforms used are X (formerly Twitter) at 58.8 %, followed by TikTok at 23.5%. Facebook and WhatsApp account for 8.8% of the complaints each,” it states.
Earlier this month, the IEC said it had renewed its partnership with Google, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok and non-profit organisation Moxii Africa (formerly Media Monitoring Africa) to ensure the integrity of election information and counter disinformation.
Mamabolo said the inclusion of the online platforms gives the commission direct access to the platforms and a real fighting chance against disinformation.
“A technically flawless election can still lose public trust if citizens are overwhelmed by disinformation. Therefore, the partnership eliminates barriers to direct access to the platforms and enables instantaneous remedial action against disinformation peddlers,” Mamabolo said.
For live updates of the local government election results, click here.
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