With the 2026 local government elections looming, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has issued an urgent public warning over a sharp and accelerating surge in misinformation and disinformation spreading across social media platforms about how it manages the country’s democratic processes. Speaking at a media briefing in Pretoria on Thursday, IEC Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Masego Sheburi revealed that the commission’s monitoring unit has detected a “dramatic uptick” in false claims over the past three months, ranging from fabricated voter roll irregularities to completely invented stories about ballot box tampering and vote-rigging schemes that have no basis in fact. “What concerns us most is not the absurdity of these claims, but how quickly they are being weaponized to erode public trust in a system that has been repeatedly certified as free and fair,” Sheburi warned. The IEC specifically flagged viral posts on TikTok, Facebook, and WhatsApp alleging that voting stations in opposition-leaning wards would be deliberately under-resourced—a claim the commission called “categorically false and dangerously divisive.” With the official campaign period yet to begin, the IEC announced a new partnership with major tech platforms to accelerate takedowns of malicious election content. The commission also urged citizens to verify any election-related information through its official channels. “Misinformation left unchecked becomes a weapon against democracy itself,” Sheburi added. The IEC confirmed it is preparing to open criminal cases against repeat offenders under the Electoral Act.
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