By BONIFACE AKARAH

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, has warned online publishers against sensational and unverified election reporting, saying a single false claim about electoral fraud could cause lasting damage to public confidence.

Amupitan issued the warning on Thursday, October 8, 2026, in Lagos while delivering the keynote address at the 10th Annual Conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), where he called for a formal partnership between INEC and digital publishers ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He said the speed of digital information had increasingly outpaced the verification of facts, making online media a critical part of the battle against election-related disinformation, synthetic media and artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes.

“Across our sub-region, election windows are increasingly targeted by coordinated information warfare, political violence narratives, synthetic media, and AI-generated deepfakes designed to inflame ethnic divides or passion and undermine institutional legitimacy,” Amupitan said.

According to him, fake news, unverified leaks and sensational reports could undermine trust, provoke unrest and discourage citizens from participating in elections.

“When an unverified claim regarding electoral fraud is published, the damage to public confidence is immediate and enduring; subsequent retractions or fact-checks rarely repair the injury,” he said.

The INEC chairman also challenged publishers to resist what he described as the economics of clickbait, arguing that the pressure to generate page views and advertising revenue must not come ahead of accuracy.

“Speed must never supersede accuracy. Being first with a false story is a costly failure; being accurate with a verified fact is a public service,” Amupitan said.

He urged GOCOP members to see themselves as a frontline filter between unverified information circulating online and the wider public.

“As corporate publishers with structured editorial boards, GOCOP members act as the primary filter between raw internet noise and public understanding,” he said.

Amupitan proposed a three-point operational pact between INEC and GOCOP as the 2027 election approaches.

Under the proposed arrangement, INEC would provide dedicated digital media fact-verification support during the election period, giving GOCOP journalists direct access to verify field reports, security incidents and technical problems before publication.

He also called on GOCOP to impose strict internal sanctions on member platforms or affiliated channels that publish unverified polling-unit results, altered result sheets or inflammatory speculative commentary.

“We request GOCOP to enforce strict internal sanctions against member platforms or affiliated channels that broadcast unverified polling unit results, altered result sheets, or incendiary speculative commentary,” Amupitan said.

The third component of the proposed pact is a voter education partnership focused particularly on the nationwide PVC collection exercise beginning Friday, October 9.

The commission wants online publishers to provide reliable information on collection centres, operational hours and requirements while helping registered voters understand the procedures.

Amupitan said the responsibility for credible elections did not rest with INEC alone, stressing that the media had a major role in protecting public confidence in the electoral process.

“While INEC carries the legal mandate to conduct elections, the wider democratic health of Nigeria—and indeed West Africa—depends on the information infrastructure maintained by the media, particularly online publishers,” he said.

He said the 2027 elections would ultimately be judged not only by the scale of INEC’s logistical preparations but also by the transparency of its processes, the credibility of the results and the conduct of all stakeholders.

In a separate assurance, Amupitan said INEC under his leadership had no preferred candidate or political party and would remain focused on protecting voters’ choices.

“INEC has no preferred candidate, no favored political party, and no institutional interest other than protecting the sacred and uncoerced will of the Nigerian voters,” he said.

The 2027 Presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will hold on February 6.