The IEC’s multifaceted shield against the AI disinformation hurricane

By Janet Heard, CINIA Communications Practitioner

Countering disinformation ahead of the 2026 local elections is like being a “meteorologist in the middle of a Category 5 hurricane. We aren’t just predicting the storm any more; we are living in it.”

This keynote warning from IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya at a recent Disinformation Dialogue held in Cape Town sets the tone for the 2026 elections, where the rampant rise of generative AI has amplified risks of manufactured reality, misinformation and disinformation.

Read Heard’s article, on the dialogue and the issues facing the IEC, for Daily Maverick, via: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-03-19-the-iecs-multifaceted-shield-against-the-ai-disinformation-hurricane/?dm_source=blocks-grid-square&dm_medium=card-link&dm_campaign=inform

 

Image via Daily Maverick.