Police say new tools can detect deepfakes with 99% accuracy ahead of 2027 polls

The Nigeria Police Force says newly acquired cybersecurity tools can detect deepfakes, voice cloning and other AI-generated manipulation with up to 99 per cent accuracy, as it prepares to tackle election misinformation ahead of the 2027 polls.

The Nigeria Police Force says newly acquired cybersecurity tools can detect deepfake videos, voice cloning and other forms of artificial intelligence-generated manipulation with up to 99 per cent accuracy, Punch reported.

A representative of the Inspector-General of Police, Assistant Commissioner of Police Bashir Abdullahi, disclosed this on Wednesday at a webinar organised by PUNCH Media Foundation on AI misinformation and Nigeria’s 2027 elections.

He said AI-generated content could falsely portray candidates, officials and electoral authorities as making statements they never made, while voice cloning could be used to circulate false announcements and inflammatory messages. “The cyber solutions that the police have procured of recent have the ability to verify this information 99 per cent,” he said.

Abdullahi said the Police Cybercrime Centre would establish who originated such content and its authenticity. He disclosed that one person was in custody over alleged false information about a South-South political candidate.

He urged citizens to verify information through credible platforms before sharing, warning that unverified reports could heighten political tension and threaten public safety.