AI Report on Southern Africa http://misa.org They increasingly claim that the image, video, or audio files incriminating them are unreal. For example, the Vice President of Zimbabwe Kembo Mohadi, said he was a victim of AI voice cloning after ZimLive (online newspaper) released three audios in which he allegedly speaks with various lovers about sex-related issues12. Tendai Biti, a former Member of Parliament and one of the leaders of the main opposition party CCC, was quick to use the voice-cloning defence when a leaked audio recording revealed his alleged involvement in an ongoing Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC) debacle. Biti used his (Twitter) X handle to claim that his voice and image were manipulated. Below is the screenshot13. One scholar who attended the Johannesburg meeting, highlighted that two main political parties contest elections in Zimbabwe. The two parties are rivals and often compete fiercely to gain power. The use of AI in political campaigns and online engagement has escalated this rivalry. The ferocity of the fight has forced the two parties to resort to drastic means in their quest for voters’ hearts and minds. They arrange teams of spin doctors and “online warriors” (a combination of bots, paid or volunteers) that create and broadcast party propaganda on Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp. Besides fundamental transformations in Zimbabwean politics, the only thing distinguishing 12 ZIMLIVE https://www.zimlive.com/love-rat-mohadi-bristles-claims-phone-hacked-or-cloned-whatever/ 13 https://twitter.com/BitiTendai/status/1711847445817085991 31