FAKE NEWS, ELECTORAL ADMINISTRATION AND THE ROLE OF ARTIFCIAL INTELLIGENCE IN NIGERIA

Abstract

One of the biggest challenges confronting Nigeria since the restoration of democratic rule in 1999 is how to deliver a free, fair and transparent electoral contest acceptable to all and sundry. Closely related to this is how incidence of fake news otherwise referred to as misinformation continues to undermine electoral administration in Nigeria. With the purveyors of fake news deliberately undermining elections, it is yet to be seen how INEC can earn the trust and confidence of Nigerians on this important assignment. The objective of this paper is to examine how the incidence of fake news sabotages electoral administration in Nigeria and what needs to be done to improve the process. The paper adopts a thematic approach with heavy reliance on secondary sources to arrive at its conclusion. To achieve its objective, the paper is anchored on systems theory as a basis of analysis, interpretation and conclusion. The paper concludes that electoral administration was largely undermined by fake news hence, the need to deal with fake news and misinformation. It recommends the strengthening of state institutions and the deployment of formidable infrastructure by way of cyber security to combat fake news and misinformation in order to re-position electoral administration in Nigeria. Achieving this will greatly boost the confidence of the electorates and other critical stakeholders involved in electoral administration in Nigeria.