2027: INEC Deploys ChatGPT In Fierce War Against AI Election Fraud
Princess-Ekwi Ajide
A voter checking WhatsApp for election updates could soon struggle to tell whether a voice note from an election official is genuine or AI-generated. A fabricated video announcing the cancellation of voting or a false election result could spread across social media before INEC has time to respond.
That is the growing threat confronting Nigeria ahead of the 2027 general elections, prompting the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to establish a dedicated Artificial Intelligence unit and deploy ChatGPT to strengthen its response to election misinformation.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan (SAN), disclosed this at the National Summit on Electoral Information Integrity in Abuja, where he warned that artificial intelligence had opened a dangerous new front in the battle to protect Nigeria’s democracy.
The two-day summit, themed Beyond the Ballot: AI, FIMI and the Integrity of the Nigerian 2027 Elections, brought together electoral officials, journalists, security agencies, civil society organisations and technology stakeholders.
Amupitan said the threats went beyond traditional electoral offences such as ballot snatching and physical violence, warning that elections could now be manipulated long before voters reached polling units.
“Today, elections can be undermined long before the first ballot is cast.
The threat is no longer limited to physical interference. It takes shape within digital networks through synthetic media, automated misinformation and disinformation,” he said.
He explained that cloned voices, fabricated videos, fake INEC directives and AI-generated election results could be deployed to mislead voters, discredit candidates and trigger violence.
According to him, technologies that once required sophisticated state-level resources, including high-quality voice cloning and realistic video manipulation, were now accessible to individuals and organised groups at relatively little cost.
To confront the emerging danger, the commission has established a dedicated AI unit to monitor new technologies, identify potential vulnerabilities and develop responses to digital threats.
In a significant disclosure, the INEC chairman said the commission was also deploying ChatGPT to strengthen its institutional response to misinformation and improve strategic crisis communication.
He said INEC was building the capacity of its information and communications technology, voter education and communications departments to monitor public information channels, detect coordinated manipulation and verify suspicious digital content.
The commission is also working with international partners, including the European Union, to establish a coordinated communication network for responding swiftly to false electoral information.
Amupitan disclosed that INEC had memoranda of understanding with some major technology companies, particularly TikTok, while seeking stronger collaboration with Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, Telegram and X.
He said the objective was to establish rapid-response channels capable of identifying and countering fabricated electoral information before it gained widespread circulation.
Fake results, cloned voices raise alarm
One of the chairman’s major concerns is the possibility of criminals using AI to manufacture election results and circulate fake announcements in the name of INEC officials.
He warned that fabricated audio recordings, videos and documents could falsely announce results, cancel elections or announce postponements in strategic locations.
Such content, he said, could create confusion, provoke political tensions and incite violence before the commission completes its official collation and announcement procedures.
“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,” he said.
He stressed that INEC remained the legally authorised institution for announcing official election results, but acknowledged that it could not independently prevent individuals from circulating fabricated figures online.
The chairman also warned about the use of manipulated political content during campaign restrictions, particularly the 24-hour campaign blackout provided under Section 98(1) of the Electoral Act 2026.
He cited the 2023 Slovak parliamentary election, where an AI-generated audio recording purportedly involving senior political figures discussing plans to manipulate the election circulated shortly before voting.
Amupitan warned that similar tactics could be deployed in Nigeria to damage candidates and influence voters when opportunities for immediate rebuttal were limited.
Voter registration, another vulnerable front
The commission also considers continuous voter registration vulnerable to digital manipulation.
Amupitan identified fake operational directives, fraudulent registration portals and manipulated claims about registration figures as potential threats.
He said INEC was reviewing the security of its web-based registration processes and encouraging safer application-based procedures to reduce opportunities for impersonation and other forms of digital fraud.
Beyond strengthening its technology, the chairman called for a coordinated national response involving the media, security agencies, telecommunications companies, civil society organisations, independent fact-checkers and social media platforms.
He urged technology companies to establish fast-track procedures for reviewing demonstrably manipulated electoral content, while asking journalists and fact-checkers to maintain direct communication with designated INEC officials for rapid verification.
He also called for voter education campaigns in local languages and Nigerian Pidgin, particularly through WhatsApp, to help citizens distinguish authentic electoral announcements from fabricated content.
He advocated pre-bunking – educating citizens about common misinformation tactics before they encounter them.
‘AI cannot police the truth alone’
Despite the technological measures being introduced, Amupitan cautioned that artificial intelligence alone could not guarantee credible elections.
He recalled how electoral technology introduced during the tenure of former INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, including the Smart Card Reader, had evolved into the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
He argued that Nigeria must embrace technological innovations while strengthening the integrity of the people and institutions responsible for deploying them.
Quoting a definition of law from one of his former professors, he said: “Law is the honest application of honest rules by honest people.”
He also drew attention to the ‘liar’s dividend’, where the increasing circulation of AI-generated fabrications makes citizens suspicious even of genuine recordings and authentic evidence.
“Our primary concern is that while technology evolves at the speed of light, the truth often travels at the speed of trust,” he said.
Addressing journalists, he stressed that speed must not come at the expense of accuracy.
“Speed is important, but accuracy is the currency of democracy,” he declared.
The summit, organised under the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EUSDGN III) framework, had among its participants former INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, the European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, and representatives of the International Press Centre and the Centre for Media and Society.
With the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for 16 January 2027, INEC faces the challenge of ensuring that voters are not deceived by fabricated results, impersonated officials or digitally manufactured political controversies.
For millions of Nigerians who will depend on their phones for election updates, the battle for credible elections may begin with a simple question: Is that message from INEC real?
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