2027 Elections: ACI Warns Journalists Against Unverified Reporting

The Arewa Cohesion for Peace, Unity and Development Initiative (ACI) has cautioned journalists against publishing unverified, inflammatory or sensational reports that could erode public confidence ahead of the 2027 General Elections.

ACI Director-General, Malam Abdullahi Idris, gave the warning on Wednesday at a workshop in Kaduna organised for 30 journalists. The training covered electoral law, fairness and objectivity, fact-checking, digital verification, conflict-sensitive reporting, hate speech, and responsible coverage of election-day incidents.

Idris said the media's role during elections extends beyond merely reporting events, noting that how information is presented can shape public understanding of political developments and reactions to electoral outcomes. He warned that inaccurate reports, provocative headlines and unverified claims risk deepening existing social tensions in a diverse society like Nigeria.

He said the growing use of social media, manipulated content and artificial intelligence has made rigorous verification even more critical, as false information can now reach large audiences within minutes. He explained that the workshop was organised in line with ACI's mandate to promote peace, cohesion, good governance, citizen participation, dialogue and peaceful coexistence.

Also speaking at the event, an editor with African Prime News, Mr Joseph Edegbo, said the media bears a critical responsibility to protect democratic participation by giving voters truthful, verified and relevant information. He urged journalists not to let political actors or powerful interests dictate their coverage, insisting that editorial decisions should be guided strictly by public interest.

He listed the media's key responsibilities during elections as voter education, campaign coverage, facilitating public debate, scrutinising the electoral process and reporting results accurately. Journalists, he said, should create platforms for candidates and parties to present their programmes while also giving citizens room to question and engage political actors on issues that affect them.

Edegbo warned against political capture of the media, where governments, politicians or powerful groups influence editorial decisions, and urged journalists to maintain professional distance from politicians while applying rigorous ethical and editorial standards.

"Journalists should constantly ask whether a story serves the public good rather than a political agenda," he said, adding that impartiality does not mean giving equal weight to every claim, but ensuring relevant perspectives are fairly represented while letting evidence determine the credibility of competing claims. He stressed that facts must be clearly separated from allegations, with unverified claims never presented as established fact.

In a separate presentation on objectivity in election reporting, Malam Garba Muhammad, a former National President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), urged reporters to let evidence, verification and professional judgment guide their work. "Report what you know. Verify what you can. Clearly identify what remains unverified," he said.

Muhammad cautioned against assuming that claims trending on platforms such as Facebook, X, TikTok and WhatsApp were automatically true, urging journalists to cross-check viral claims against official records, primary sources and independent evidence before publishing.

He distinguished between offering candidates’ equal opportunity and practising false balance, explaining that while candidates deserve a fair chance to present their views and respond to allegations, journalists should not portray two opposing claims as equally credible when the evidence clearly favours one. "Be fair to people; be rigorous with facts," he said.

He advised journalists to go beyond simply reporting politicians' statements and instead examine what their policies, promises and records actually mean for voters—assessing campaign promises for feasibility, cost, funding, evidence and measurable targets. He also cautioned against turning party press releases into ready-made news stories, insisting such materials should be treated as sources requiring independent scrutiny.

On covering electoral disputes, Muhammad stressed the importance of the right of reply, urging journalists to identify serious allegations, reach out to those affected, and accurately report their responses—while clearly stating when attempts to obtain a response were unsuccessful.

He further warned against declaring election winners based on incomplete results, party claims or social media projections, stressing that journalists must distinguish between polling-unit results, collated results, party projections, unofficial figures and official declarations. "Reporting results is not the same as declaring a winner," he said, advising journalists to verify result sheets, cross-check figures, and clearly state the status and source of every result they report.

Muhammad also urged reporters to avoid ethnic, religious and regional generalisations, and to exercise caution when covering incidents involving rival political groups.

Other speakers at the workshop advised journalists covering election-related violence to prioritise verified facts, confirmed casualties, locations and statements from credible authorities, while clearly explaining the human and security implications involved. They cautioned against inflammatory or loaded language in headlines and reports, insisting that allegations must be attributed to their sources rather than stated as fact, and that headlines should accurately reflect the evidence contained in the story.

Journalists were also urged to verify photographs and videos by confirming when and where they were taken, identifying the people shown, and checking for manipulation or out-of-context use. The facilitators emphasised that professional standards must apply equally to traditional reporting and journalists' activity on social media, urging reporters to "stop, check, verify, attribute and contextualise" before sharing election-related information online.

The speakers concluded that the ultimate responsibility of election journalists goes beyond reporting events—it is to help citizens understand the electoral process, distinguish fact from propaganda, and participate peacefully in democracy. They stressed that public trust remains the media's most valuable asset, urging journalists to protect it by upholding independence, accuracy, fairness and accountability throughout the electoral cycle.