Nigeria’s Media Rights Agenda warns AI tools threaten press freedom through deepfakes, government surveillance, and automated content restrictions.
Nigeria’s Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has issued a stark warning about artificial intelligence’s potential to undermine press freedom in a comprehensive new report titled “Digital Shadows: AI’s Threat to Nigerian Media.”
The study identifies three key risk areas emerging across Africa’s largest democracy.
Deepfake manipulation tops concerns, with documented cases of AI-generated audio mimicking prominent journalists to spread misinformation.
The report cites a fabricated broadcast allegedly featuring Channels TV’s Seun Okinbaloye endorsing political candidates – content shared by over 40,000 users before debunking.
Government surveillance tools now incorporate AI-powered monitoring of journalists’ movements and communications, according to leaked procurement documents.
The MRA traced 12 Nigerian state agencies using Israeli-developed “predictive policing” software that flags reporters investigating sensitive topics like oil theft or security contracts.
Platform algorithms increasingly suppress legitimate journalism, the report finds.
Researchers analyzed 150 news stories about corruption investigations and found Facebook’s system automatically demoted 73% of them as “borderline content,” while allowing state-sponsored media versions to circulate widely.
MRA Executive Director Ayode Longe emphasized the urgency: “We’re witnessing the weaponization of AI tools against truth-tellers while bad actors exploit these same systems to flood the zone with disinformation.”
Press freedom groups note the warning comes as Nigeria falls to 115th in RSF’s World Press Freedom Index, its lowest position since military rule.
With elections approaching, experts fear AI threats could distort Nigeria’s information ecosystem beyond recognition.
