As South Africa prepares for elections on May 29, security is being ramped up around crucial physical locations, while digital spaces are being left unprotected — at least by the state.
“As the government, we want to issue a stern warning to anyone with the intention of disrupting the elections that law enforcement officers will deal with them decisively and put them behind bars,” minister of defence & military veterans Thandi Modise said last Sunday.
However, nothing was said about cybersecurity, despite a global rise in the use of AI to manipulate elections. According to global cybersecurity firm Check Point Software, AI-generated deepfakes and fabricated materials “are increasingly being employed by candidates, political parties and even foreign actors to deceive voters and advance their agendas”.
Check Point says these sophisticated techniques blur the line between fact and fiction, making it difficult for voters to discern genuine information from manipulated content. Sergey Shykevich, threat intelligence group manager at the firm, warned this week: “Amid the political frenzy, South Africans must remain vigilant against the onslaught of disinformation campaigns by criminals leveraging AI technologies and cybercrime.”
Check Point investigations have revealed that AI cloning is being used by candidates for self-promotion, and to attack and defame political opponents, as well as by foreign nation-state actors to defame specific candidates. “Our research into the use of AI in election campaigns around the globe highlights a chilling evolution of digital warfare against democratic processes,” says Shykevich.
The sophistication and accessibility of AI technologies have reached a point where they can easily be weaponised to influence the democratic process
— Sergey Shykevich, Check Point Software
“The sophistication and accessibility of AI technologies have reached a point where they can easily be weaponised to influence the democratic process.”
But it’s not all bad news. From Argentina to Indonesia, says Check Point, these tools have also been used to bypass restrictions on free speech, providing faces and voices to imprisoned or muted political leaders. However, this often results in misleading applications, such as fabricating endorsements from deceased leaders in Indonesia and India, or animating the content of leaked e-mails in Poland.
In the US, a fake robocall impersonating President Joe Biden urged Democrats not to vote. This prompted the US Federal Communications Commission to outlaw robocalls generated by AI. In the UK, more than 100 deepfake paid video advertisements impersonating Prime Minister Rishi Sunak were promoted on Facebook, “proving” he served private business interests.
Check Point advises South Africans to verify the authenticity of online information before sharing or believing it, and to stay informed about the latest developments in disinformation tactics.
Abongile Mashele, head of government affairs and public policy at Google, says the company has taken a number of steps to support the integrity of the upcoming elections in South Africa. On YouTube, human reviewers and machine-learning technology combine to detect, review and remove content that violates Google’s policies. All advertisers who run election adverts in South Africa must complete an identity verification process and display an in-ad disclosure that clearly shows who paid for the ad.
Most significantly, Google is funding a fact-checking coalition, led by Africa Check, with South African media. It fact-checks claims made by political parties, provides voters with non-partisan information on crucial issues, and equips the public with skills to identify election misinformation.
“We were the first tech company to require advertisers to disclose when their election ads include synthetic content that inauthentically depicts real or realistic-looking people or events,” says Mashele. “This includes ads that were created with the use of AI. Our ads policies already prohibit the use of manipulated media to mislead people, such as deepfakes or doctored content.”
Even video-sharing social media platform TikTok is getting in on the election protection act. It has created an in-app election centre, which it describes as “a dedicated space for verified voting information”, in partnership with the Electoral Commission of South Africa and civil society organisations.
• Goldstuck is the founder of World Wide Worx and the editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za
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