Experts raise red flag on deepfakes in African democracies

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Seated outside her shop in Mukono municipality, Sarah Nansubuga, a 42-year-old shopkeeper scrolls through her smartphone to watch the latest videos and photos from her candidate’s campaign trail on social media platforms, TikTok and Facebook.

Whenever she comes across a new video or photo of her candidate addressing big crowds, she quickly alerts her neighbours to take a glance before quickly forwarding it to her friends in the contacts list out of excitement.

“There is no way we shall lose this election. Look at these crowds… No other candidate has this much. We are winning this election,” she says as she scrolls further.

What Nansubuga does not know is that some of the images and videos she is sharing are deepfakes, basically videos, still photos, text and sound forged using artificial intelligence (AI) to look real, whereas not and influence public opinion. Deepfakes are mainly generated using black market AI platforms and shared on social media platforms such as Facebook, X and WhatsApp.

Experts note that although the Electoral Commission and Ugandan security agencies have not made tackling deepfakes a priority in the forthcoming elections, the spread of false information using deepfakes is a growing threat to democracy in Uganda and Africa, a continent with the youngest population.

During the 25th annual Media Awards Convention at Makerere University on Thursday, Racheal Akidi, a former British Broadcasting Africa editor, said that with over 70% of the young people across the world using social media, malicious groups are targeting them using fake information generated using AI.

“Social media influencers, bloggers, and content creators have taken centre stage in using AI to generate false content to sway audiences in the social media digital platforms to attract millions of followers,” she said.

However, Akidi is not the only media practitioner raising the red flag about the misinformation ‘pandemic’.

Andrew Kyamagero, a journalist, notes that Ugandans living abroad have become the biggest victims of misinformation about their country.

“The level of misinformation and disinformation about Uganda circulating within the diaspora is truly alarming, especially among Ugandans who haven’t been home in years. They often share exaggerated and fabricated stories that leave you stunned. You sit there thinking, "Bro, that’s not true," yet they seem so convinced by their narratives,” he states.

Kyamagero further says that for such people who are disconnected from accurate information, these distorted tales create an overwhelming fear of them ever returning home.

Humphrey Wampula, an editor at New Vision, says some of the deepfakes that are being generated at the moment appear too genuine for anyone to suspect that they are false.

“They are perfecting the local accents each day, making it hard for one to tell whether they are false or not,” he says.

Wampula says that whereas tech giants such as Google and Sora take the responsibility of stamping deepfakes, those in the black market do not. He further says that the industry appears to be a step ahead of the Government in combating misinformation.

Currently, Uganda is just in the process of coming up with an AI policy, although spreading false information using electronic devices is punishable under the Misuse (Amendment) Act 2022 -- offences such as malicious communication, cyber harassment, and dissemination of false information attract fines of up to sh15m or imprisonment of up to 10 years.

“The offences are already created by this law, and we are going to strengthen it. We are also building capacity in terms of technology in order to protect Ugandans from cybercrimes,” ICT and national guidance minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi said recently.

Uganda not alone

Uganda is not the only country facing the deepfakes threat in Africa.

Media experts have of late noted that deepfakes are increasingly being used by foreign organisations to entrench their ideologies in Africa, the continent with the youngest population.

Akidi told the audience at Makerere University that research shows 60% of disinformation content shared on social media is foreign-sponsored and widely circulated without fact-checking.

On the continent, one of the leaders who is a top subject of deepfakes and image manipulation is Capt. Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso. AI-generated videos of Traore and widely circulated worldwide to show that he is accomplishing unprecedented tasks, many of which are false and aimed at causing discontent in other countries

A report by AFP in May showed that for Nigerians weighed down by hardship, claims that Traore is transforming Burkina Faso into an economic powerhouse resonate deeply.

"Traore fits the role perfectly -- young, defiant, and open to Russian cooperation, especially through Wagner-linked security outfits now rebranded as the Africa Corps," AFP quoted Ikemesit Effiong, partner at Lagos-based consultancy firm SBM Intelligence.

AFP debunked purportedly show a massive low-cost high-rise residential block constructed under Traore's leadership.

However, the claim is false. The construction site seen in the videos is a national building project in Tizi Ouzou, Algeria.

Across Francophone Africa, similar narratives are gaining traction. In Ivory Coast, a video of Traore at the inauguration of a cement plant in Burkina Faso spread alongside false claims he had announced a drop in cement prices.

Months before he was ousted in Niger, former Nigerien president Mohamed Bazoum said Russia's Wagner Group had been sponsoring "disinformation campaigns against us" (archived here).

AFP reported that there are signs of organised, large-scale campaigns using false information to boost the profiles of Sahelian military leaders.

The content is produced by "Russian propaganda units and then given to these influencers, through the middlemen, to post on social media," said Philip Obaji, a Nigerian journalist who has analysed Russian influence operations.

Angola cracks the whip

On August 7, Radio France reported that the Angolan authorities had arrested two Russian nationals Lev Lakshtanov and Igor Racthin, in the capital, Luanda, after violent protests over soaring fuel prices. They face charges including criminal conspiracy, document forgery, terrorism and terror financing.

The two suspects are said to have entered Angola on tourist visas before later presenting themselves as journalists. The state alleged that they had ulterior motives of destabilising the country through misinformation.

Solutions

Wampula says that whereas tech companies are flagging down deepfakes, the Government must strengthen the law and capacity to have it enforced.

Timothy Chemonges, a policy analyst at the Centre for Policy Analysis, says the Government must beware that Africa’s young population is a prime target for misinformation and manipulation by foreign elements.

“Whoever captures the imagination of young Africans today will shape the continent’s future political and economic direction,” he says.

Chemonges says to avoid this, Africa’s youth must sharpen their digital literacy, question the motives behind certain narratives.