September 10, 2026
Elections & Democracy
Media Monitoring
Research & Reports

Electoral stakeholders target online disinformation ahead of local government elections

Asanda Matlhare
Link to article

Community building and engagement programme manager Ntsako Manganyi presented feedback collected from July 31 to August 31 from Real 411, an evidence-first tool used to monitor media in real time, report digital harms, visualise trends and turn data into action for journalists, educators and communities.Trend analysis revealed that 184 complaints were received since July 31, averaging 46 complaints weekly, with 60% related to elections.Manganyi said recurring disinformation narratives included political collusion claims, fraudulent IEC recruitment posts, unverified corruption accusations and legitimate scrutiny blended with speculation.