Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za

06 October 2026

2-minute read

When it comes to elections – don’t think that anything which looks official is true!

With the 2026 local government elections fast approaching, voters will have to learn to separate genuine information on WhatsApp family groups and social media sites from misinformation, manipulation and AI-generated content.

William Bird, director at Moxii Africa (previously Media Monitoring Africa) says that there are 3 things to look out for when discerning election messages that land on your WhatsApp group:

1. Check your emotions – misinformation and disinformation manipulate your emotions so that you do not rationalise the information or think logically.
2. Don’t believe everything that you see on social media – check it against official and credible news websites and media sources like Radio Islam.
3. If you see an election advert that looks AI-generated, upload the image to AdCompare, a site that will compare the ad to all the legitimate ads on its databases to verify it.

Because family groups are limited, they are usually seen as trusted sources of information. Most people who receive election-related messages on these groups believe them without first verifying them. There are also family members who like to sensationalise any information they come across – William says to especially be wary of messages from these members. Verify every election-related message before forwarding it.

The PAdRe AdCompare Tool is a WhatsApp-based tool created by Moxii Africa and the IEC to help voters check political advertisements. To use it, add the number +27 77 422 3316 to your WhatsApp contacts, send a message saying “Hello”, and upload the image of the political ad you want to check.

Listen to the full interview with Mufti Yusuf Moosagie and William Bird here.