Kperogi urges Editors to put credibility ahead of AI-driven disinformation

Prof. Farooq Kperogi, a journalism scholar, has urged Nigerian editors to strengthen verification systems and prioritise credibility as artificial intelligence (AI) and social media continue to accelerate the spread of disinformation.

Kperogi, Professor of Journalism and Emerging Media at Kennesaw State University, Georgia, United States, made the call on Friday while delivering the keynote address at the 2026 All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC) in Enugu.

The conference was organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE).

In his paper, titled “When Lies Look Real: Detecting and Debunking AI Disinformation During and After Election,” Kperogi described AI-generated disinformation as an unprecedented challenge for newsrooms, particularly during election periods.

He said AI had fundamentally altered the scale, speed and sophistication of information disorder, making fabricated content increasingly difficult to detect and distinguish from authentic material.

“Colourful journalism doesn’t last, but authentic and credible journalism lasts forever,” he said.

Kperogi urged editors to protect journalism from unverified digital content by ensuring that material obtained from social media and other online sources was properly authenticated before publication.

He cited instances in which AI had allegedly been used to create fake front pages of established newspapers and circulate false political narratives involving President Bola Tinubu, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi.

According to him, AI-generated disinformation presents particular difficulties for fact-checkers because fabricated material can closely imitate the appearance, language and visual identity of familiar media organisations, thereby making false information appear credible to unsuspecting audiences.

Kperogi said academic and analytical models, including what he referred to as “Schola Analytica,” could provide useful theoretical frameworks but might not, on their own, resolve the practical verification challenges confronting newsrooms on a daily basis.

He said the unchecked circulation of unverified material on social media was also contributing to declining public confidence in traditional journalism.

To strengthen the credibility of news organisations, particularly during elections, Kperogi called for stronger newsroom verification procedures and proactive interventions against emerging forms of disinformation.

He advised media organisations to secure and regularly audit their visual identifiers, including mastheads, logos, digital archives and other distinctive features, to reduce the risk of unauthorised replication using AI.

He also urged editors and fact-checkers to continuously improve their technical skills and use emerging verification tools to establish the origin, authenticity and provenance of digital content.

Kperogi said fact-checking should go beyond issuing corrections after false information had been published, urging newsrooms to anticipate emerging disinformation techniques and expose them before they gained widespread circulation.

He further called on media organisations to educate their audiences on how to distinguish verified information from fabricated digital content.

The journalism scholar advocated stronger collaboration among news managers, independent fact-checking organisations and verification networks to improve the media industry’s capacity to detect and counter digital disinformation.

On the need to balance speed with accuracy, Kperogi cautioned editors against allowing the pressure to break news to override established verification procedures.

He warned that a single unverified report published in haste could cause lasting damage to the credibility of a news organisation.

“Meticulous election coverage and strict authentication programming are non-negotiable interventions required to insulate journalism from unwanted embarrassment and maintain its role as the bedrock of democracy,” he said.

Artificial intelligence has introduced new challenges for journalism by making it easier to produce and distribute convincing fabricated text, photographs, videos, audio recordings and other digital material.

During elections, such content can be used to impersonate legitimate media organisations, attribute false statements to political actors and circulate fabricated news reports at high speed.

For newsrooms, the challenge extends beyond detecting false information after publication to establishing the authenticity and origin of material before it is published.

Kperogi’s address at ANEC 2026 therefore focused on stronger verification, continuous training of journalists, protection of media brands and greater collaboration between news organisations and fact-checking networks.