Research on Development of African Media, Governance, and Society.

23/09/2026

Of the 32 observations recorded, 16 point to the same pattern: whether hate speech is prevented or allowed to continue currently places the public in two opposing positions. It is clearly established that one needs to choose between the extreme right and left as the 2027 elections draw closer.

As tracked and reported earlier, failure to curb hate speech will lead to immediate outcomes and long-term consequences. This, according to our analysts, necessitates the continued deployment of moral tools towards chiding creators and spreaders across platforms.

23/09/2026

Hate speech remains one of the key soft tools available to campaign actors, just as generative artificial intelligence represents one of the hard tools enabled by technology.

According to our analysts, its use remains significant in recent elections across the world, especially in Nigeria, where political, ethnic and emotional polarisation have been found.

In our latest tracking, we have discovered that spreading hate speech against institutions responsible for the 2027 elections signifies a possible public perception that they have failed to deliver according to their intents and promises.

We also found that hate speech is capable of making some people desert political activities needed to strengthen electoral processes andparticipation ahead of and during the elections.

Other reasons identified in the tracking are currently appearing at lower levels. Despite this, analysts expect concerned stakeholders to continuously chide actors who create and spread malicious statements.

23/09/2026

23/09/2026

Our latest tracking, using a new indicator, shows that the use of artificial intelligence in the ongoing campaigns goes beyond communicating the attributes and values of candidates and political parties. As found earlier, emotional appeal remains a significant tool for persuading the public to take action either against or in support of targets of AI-generated content.

Our tracking also reinforces existing AI use patterns among citizens and social media influencers, who rely more on extreme negative appeals than positive ones.

However, pride appeal, which citizens and influencers largely ignore, is well employed by broadcast and print media. Our analysts attribute this difference to gatekeepers who determine what gets communicated, or not communicated, on conventional media platforms.

Despite this variation, our analysts note that the electorate should pay closer attention to the excessive use of extreme negative appeals such as fear, anger and disgust. These can influence how the public gauges and assesses the targets of identified AI content.

The call is therefore for the electorate to apply critical thinking by separating facts from opinions rather than allowing emotional reactions to guide their assessment.

22/09/2026

One of our previous tracking reports showed that emotional polarisation was on the rise and highlighted how it could play a significant role in fuelling division before, during and after the 2027 election.

The current tracking evidence on stakeholders' use of emotional appeals in polarising communication shows that hope and humour are the most prominent emotional appeals across the relevant stakeholders.

This suggests that polarising communication may not always rely on overtly hostile language but can also use positive or entertaining emotions such as hope and humour to shape audience perception.

As campaign activities intensify, there is a need to explicitly identify messages containing emotional polarisation that could manipulate audiences.

It is also important not to treat all forms of emotional polarisation as misinformation.

22/09/2026

In the last few weeks, we have been revealing how stakeholders are using artificial intelligence as part of their campaign tools. In this latest tracking, we have identified potential harms associated with the use of this tool before and after the 2027 elections.

According to our indicator, the consequences of confirmed AI-generated content are significant for people and electoral processes. One of the striking outcomes is its potential impact on how electorates assess personalities, as creators of the content have continuously used derogatory statements and demeaning visuals to portray their targets negatively.

Meanwhile, while our indicator establishes a low potential impact for AI-assisted content, our analysts call on organisations responsible for critical media and information literacy to increase efforts to develop templates that could help the public discern AI-induced information as elections draw near.

21/09/2026

Beyond understanding policy and campaign issues as campaign activities continue, our tracking has established that stakeholders are being careful about how they discuss and challenge the personal attributes of candidates and political parties ahead of the 2027 elections.

Our analysis shows that the main indicator, highly personality disparagement, which helps establish a lack of decorum in stakeholder communication, remains relatively insignificant at this stage.

Meanwhile, our analysts note that the public should watch for a possible increase in this indicator as campaign activities intensify, as stakeholders may be more likely to deploy personality-based attacks as the elections draw closer.

21/09/2026

Our current polarisation indicator shows that political party affiliation, support for political actors and stakeholder alignments remain significant factors shaping how Nigerians could become divided before, during and after the 2027 elections.

The tracking evidence shows that political and emotional polarisation are already receiving significant attention in the electoral conversation, while religious polarisation remains less discussed. The implication is that the lower level of discussion around religious polarisation should not be mistaken for a lower risk of division.

As campaign activities intensify, the pattern of polarisation being tracked will remain important in understanding how different forms of affiliation could shape divisions among Nigerians.

21/09/2026

The issues stakeholders are discussing as campaign activities continue are revealing what is receiving attention in the electoral conversation. Our tracking shows that the economy and security remain critical issues and needs for Nigerians.

However, the latest monitoring also shows that attention is extending to issues such as educational qualifications and possible electoral challenges in 2027, rather than focusing more directly on issues of national importance within the policy arena expected during electioneering campaigns.

This pattern raises a concern about the issues taking space in the campaign conversation. While the economy and security remain central to the needs identified through our monitoring, critical areas such as health and education also require attention as campaign activities continue this week.

Our analysts therefore note that the campaign conversation needs to continue engaging with these critical issues, particularly health and education, as stakeholders discuss the issues that matter to Nigerians.