AI Report on Southern Africa http://misa.org The concept of “fake news” has attracted much scholarly interest since Donald Trump’s 2016 election as the 45th president of the USA. While the spread of misinformation has long been a part of the news ecosystem, the advent of AI and online platforms has only exacerbated the problem. As far back as records go, the colonial government of Zimbabwe used propaganda, which is a kind of fake news, as a response to political paranoia and insecurity during the country’s colonial era. When asked about sources of information during the Harare, Bulawayo, and Johannesburg meetings, participants answered a poll on mentimeter.com. Their responses are depicted in the word cloud below. More people in the region rely on social media as a source of information than traditional media outlets. The word cloud shows that the majority of participants cited social media platforms such as Twitter and WhatsApp as their primary source of news. This shift towards social media as a primary source of news is common to this region, as it is a global trend. The ease of access and the ability to share information quickly on these platforms have made them popular among users seeking real-time updates and diverse perspectives. Figure 8 Sources of information poll results AI to create deep fakes and voice cloning AI systems can also create deep fakes (images, videos, or audio files manipulated by AI) that blur the lines between reality and fiction. While deepfakes are used predominantly in the pornographic field, where they almost exclusively involve women, they can also show wellknown politically active individuals performing actions and making statements that they never made. These public figures can then be defamed or even blackmailed with the alleged compromising image material. AI-manipulated photos of campaign rallies was circulating during the runup to the 2023 elections, with both Zanu PF and the leading opposition party, the Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC), making good use of them, analysts say. The aim can be to influence political life or to cause the people concerned to withdraw from politics. At the same time, deepfakes also offer a “liar’s dividend” or a path of evasion for public figures criticised for actions or statements they have made. 30