As Nigeria moves towards its 2027 general elections, the question of how artificial intelligence could be used to mislead voters has moved from conference talk to concrete commitments. At the AI and Democracy Forum in Abuja on 14 October 2026, a two-day event convened by Yiaga Africa with INEC, technology companies and civil society groups, Microsoft’s senior director for global elections said the company would load the Independent National Electoral Commission’s final candidate list into its systems so that its generative AI tools cannot be used to create unrealistic images of those candidates.

This is a useful step, but it is important to understand its limits. This explainer sets out what is actually being promised, why it matters, and what ordinary users and businesses can do to avoid being fooled or used to spread fakes.

What Microsoft has committed to

According to Premium Times, Microsoft offered the measure to INEC after the commission finalised its candidate list. Once the list is in Microsoft’s systems, requests to its generative AI tools to produce misleading images of listed candidates should be refused.

The company linked the step to the 2024 Tech Accord to Combat Deceptive Use of AI in Elections, an industry agreement under which signatories, including Microsoft and Google, committed to removing content that uses the likeness of a candidate or election official without permission.

The Microsoft executive also struck a cautious note about the scale of the threat, suggesting that deepfakes may influence elections less than some fear, and citing US research which suggests that voters may trust candidates less when those candidates share AI-generated synthetic media. He urged candidates not to circulate deceptive content.

What this does not cover

A block inside one company’s tools is not a block on the whole internet. In practical terms:

• It applies to the tools of the company making the commitment. Other image generators, including open-source models that people run on their own computers, are not bound by it.
• It focuses on images of listed candidates. Fake audio, edited video, invented quotes, doctored result sheets and fake screenshots of news websites are separate problems.
• Older tricks still work. A real photo with a false caption, or a genuine video from a different year presented as new, needs no AI at all and is often more convincing.

So the sensible approach is to welcome the safeguard while continuing to check what you see and share.

INEC’s own use of AI

INEC is also adopting AI, but in a deliberately controlled way. At the forum, INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan said the commission had set up an AI unit to strengthen its digital infrastructure, including results management, and noted that AI-based security tools can help detect attacks such as denial-of-service and password brute-forcing. Speaking at an international conference in Ottawa in September, he said AI must remain under human control and act as a support tool rather than a replacement for human decisions, and described a results process that compares digitised result sheets with BVAS records and flags discrepancies for officials rather than changing results.

Civil society groups at the Abuja forum stressed that any AI used in elections must be accurate, transparent and auditable, and that rebuilding public trust is a major challenge ahead of 2027.

How to check a suspicious image, video or audio clip

You do not need specialist software to catch most fakes. Work through these checks before you react or forward anything:

1. Pause. Content designed to make you angry, frightened or excited is designed to be shared quickly. A short delay is your best defence.
2. Check the source. Who first posted it? Is it a verified account of a known news organisation, party or official body, or an anonymous page created recently?
3. Look for the same story elsewhere. If something major happened, several reputable outlets will report it. If only one page has it, be sceptical.
4. Run a reverse image search. Tools such as Google Lens or TinEye can show whether a picture appeared earlier in a different context.
5. Look closely at details. AI images can still show odd hands, jumbled text on posters, mismatched lighting or strange backgrounds, although these flaws are becoming less common, so their absence proves nothing.
6. Listen carefully to audio. Flat emotion, unusual pauses or a voice that does not match the setting are warning signs. When in doubt, look for the original recording.
7. Check fact-checkers. Nigerian and African fact-checking organisations regularly publish verdicts on viral claims.

What businesses and communicators should do

• Set a rule for staff: no forwarding of unverified political content from company accounts or official WhatsApp groups.
• Protect your own brand: criminals also use AI to fake voices and images of business leaders for fraud. Agree a call-back procedure for any unusual payment request, even one that seems to come from the boss.
• Label your own AI content: if you use AI to create marketing images, say so. Being transparent builds trust at a time when audiences are becoming more suspicious.
• Report fakes: use platform reporting tools when you see manipulated content about candidates or officials, since tech accord signatories have committed to removing it.

AI will be part of the 2027 election season, for better and for worse. Company safeguards help, but careful, sceptical users remain the most effective filter.

Sources

• Premium Times: Microsoft to restrict AI-generated images of candidates ahead of 2027 election
• The Nigeria Lawyer: Responsible AI begins with institutional readiness, INEC Chairman says

Featured image: Photo: “Kenilworth Street, Leamington Spa – QR Code” by ell brown, CC BY 2.0, via Openverse — source