2027: Police partner tech firms to track deepfake creators

Detailed summary

The Nigeria Police Force is partnering with tech firms to track deepfake creators and combat AI-driven disinformation ahead of the 2027 general elections. Read More:…

The Nigeria Police Force says it is strengthening its cyber intelligence operations, deploying digital forensic investigations and working with social media platforms to detect and investigate the use of artificial intelligence to spread disinformation ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The police said the measures were aimed at identifying individuals behind manipulated videos, cloned voices, impersonation and coordinated online campaigns capable of misleading voters and undermining confidence in the electoral process.

The Force also disclosed that it had carried out targeted raids on phone farms and arrested suspects involved in creating deepfake content to manipulate online conversations, adding that the police had established measures to identify people behind manipulated content, verify suspicious information and preserve electronic evidence for possible prosecution.

The Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, gave the warning through an Assistant Commissioner of Police, Bashir Abdullahi, during The PUNCH webinar on artificial intelligence, misinformation and Nigeria’s 2027 elections on Wednesday.

Abdullahi said the police had learnt from the challenges encountered during the 2023 elections and established the National Cybercrime Centre to strengthen its response to technology-enabled crimes.

The ACP further noted that the police had engaged technology companies, including Meta and TikTok, to help identify the people behind suspicious information circulated on social media.

He explained that the arrangement would enable the police to obtain information about the users responsible, establish where the content originated, request its removal and preserve evidence for investigations.

“We have made an effort now to shake hands with tech companies, most of the social media platforms, TikTok, Meta is the mother company of Facebook, WhatsApp, and what have you.

“So, we were able to shake hands with them. This time around, whenever any information of this nature appears on…

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