As the National and Provincial Elections 2024 draw closer, people need to guard against targeted misinformation campaigns aimed at discrediting political rivals.

The spread of fake news can either be through a purposeful smear campaign or as a result of people sharing information on social media that they have not verified.

The Electoral Commission of South Africa, known as the IEC, has already had to deal with several incidents of malicious fake news and anticipates an increase ahead of the elections.

“The dissemination of disinformation has huge potential to undermine the fairness and credibility of elections. Trustworthy information is crucial in the process that enables citizens to choose their leaders,” says IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya.

“All people have a responsibility to think critically before they share any information that could harm another individual, an organisation, or a political party,” says Caxton group editor Irma Green.

Fake news is the topic of today’s Caxton Local Media’s pre-election poll. These polls have been running for some time now to spark meaningful dialogue ahead of the elections.