The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has given political parties and candidates 36 hours to report suspected online disinformation and take steps to correct false material distributed on their behalf under a new code governing campaigning for local government elections.

The rules designate Real411 as the online channel for reporting disinformation complaints. They apply to campaigning both online and offline, including paid advertising and unpaid content.

Real411 is a platform developed by Media Monitoring Africa that allows the public to submit complaints about suspected digital disinformation for assessment. The commission uses it to receive complaints about information that could undermine elections.

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