This article may contain graphic and/or adult content unsuitable for minors and sensitive readers.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has partnered with Media Monitoring Africa to launch an online reporting platform aimed at addressing the dissemination of false information ahead of the country's elections next month.
The pilot project is in response to the rise of incidents of disinformation and its potential to impact the upcoming elections on May 8.
The website will:
give citizens an opportunity to report instances of false reporting and offensive content that is intentionally intended to influence the outcome of the upcoming elections.
allow the public to check for themselves the veracity of campaign material and quickly determine whether a poster or pamphlet has been photoshopped or otherwise altered to undermine the party.
access to all complaints received and their progress the site contained a database of all complaints received and their progress.
It will also include a communication and education strategy to help educate voters about the dangers of disinformation and how to spot fake news.
To help distinguish between official and fake adverts, political parties contesting the 8 May elections have been asked to upload all official advertising material used by the party to an online political advert platform.
