Nigeria warns of deep rigging ahead of 2027 elections
The rise of digital disinformation campaigns is raising official concerns.
Written by: Mohammed Omran
With the approach of the anticipated election in Nigeria For 2027, the Presidency issued strong warnings about the escalating use of deepfake technologies and fabricated online content, which are being systematically used in disinformation campaigns aimed at stirring up religious and political tensions.
Nigeria warns of the rise of deepfake videos and their exploitation to incite tensions
The presidency announced in a statement that it had detected a pattern of coordinated digital disinformation targeting President Bola Ahmad Tinubu through fabricated videos and fake audio recordings circulating on social media platforms and messaging applications.
The statement read: “As the political season approaches, desperate actors will continue to stir up anger, distort beliefs, manipulate context, spread lies, and push dangerous emotional baits across social media platforms and WhatsApp groups in an attempt to divide Nigerians for political gain.”.
The statement reaffirmed President Tinubu’s personal and national stance on religious tolerance, noting that the president is a Muslim married to a Christian and leads a multi-religious state based on constitutional freedom of worship and peaceful coexistence.
Authorities assert that these fake videos are no longer just random content on social media platforms, but have become a dangerous tool believed to be operated by entities seeking to distort the facts and fuel division within Nigerian society, threatening the integrity of the political climate and national stability ahead of the elections.
The statement explained that a manipulated video with fake audio, falsely linked to an influencer, was recently circulated to portray President Tinobo negatively, while another deepfake video purporting to feature a religious leader was posted online in what the statement described as a deliberate attempt to incite Muslims against the president.
She warned that this trend reflects a deliberate strategy by desperate actors to distort the facts, stir up anger, and inflame religious tensions as political activism escalates.
The statement continued: “We are aware of another deliberate attempt to exploit religion for political purposes across various online platforms.
The Nigerian presidency urged citizens to exercise caution before sharing inflammatory content online, warning them of the need to constantly question who benefits from spreading divisive rhetoric.
She also urged them to verify information before sharing it, and to resist any attempts to undermine national unity by spreading misinformation.
She added that a similar incident had occurred earlier, involving a manipulated video with fake audio and a false attribution intended to portray the president negatively by using the identity of an influencer.
The presidency warned that this trend reflects a deliberate strategy by “desperate actors” to distort facts, stir up anger, and inflame religious tensions as political activities escalate.
