G20 leaders have a role to play in the media's fight against deepfakes

News24

7 hours ago

There is a troubling scourge of deepfakes, which impact on the media and need the attention of the G20 writes Sbu Ngalwa.
Not much happens in Polokwane – save for that odd day when the Peter Mokaba Stadium plays host to a Premier Soccer League home game, and then suddenly, the town comes alive.
The last time Polokwane likely welcomed international visitors from diverse nationalities was in June 2010, during the Soccer World Cup.
But I digress.
In the Limpopo capital earlier this month, senior government officials, international organisations, civil society and technocrats from G20 countries gathered for the third meeting of the Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG).
The DEWG is one of 15 working groups participating in a series of meetings focused on topics relevant to the G20. Inputs from these meetings contribute to the G20 summit agenda and may be incorporated into the final G20 Leaders' Declaration after the South African-hosted summit in November 2025.
Troubling scourge of deepfakes
Therefore, working group discussions have the potential to make it onto the agenda of the leaders of countries that hold over 85% of the global GDP. This is by far the most powerful bloc of global nations, and South Africa holds the G20 presidency this year and will hand over the baton to the United States for 2026.
The G20 needs to be inclusive in its deliberations, considerations, and ultimately, decisions. Fortunately, civil society is involved in some of the Sherpa streams.
The DEWG invited me to provide input on behalf of the SA National Editors' Forum (Sanef) and, by extension, the African Editors Forum (TAEF) on the troubling scourge of deepfakes and their impact on the media.
Deepfakes involve the digital manipulation of videos/images to appear to show the targeted person's face, body or voice. The intention is to mislead and spread false information.
SABC Morning Live presenter Leanne Manas is among the victims. Her image was used to promote an online trading platform. As a result, she needed security to escort her to work, where victims of scams travelled to the SABC to 'confront' her.
The Polokwane meeting provided an opportunity to highlight the media's role in fighting misinformation and disinformation and also to appeal to the G20 nations to involve the media in their collective response against deepfakes and other efforts to promote information integrity.
The mainstream media has been at the forefront of exposing deepfakes and informing the public about this dangerous assault on the truth.
In May, News24 exposed the hijacking of local websites for the nefarious purposes of spreading fake stories about the country. Through its fact-checking desk, News24 revealed how a digital marketing agency based in India was buying expired domains of South African websites and using them to publish fake AI-generated stories. This included a report about plans by the City of Cape Town to introduce a traffic congestion tax.
In a country burdened by growing inequality, an increase in the fuel levy and the recent political uproar over the government's failed attempt to increase VAT, such a story would not only gain traction online, but also offend many people. That's how convincing some of these stories are.
Thankfully, it was quickly debunked, as the City also issued a statement denying that such a tax was in the pipeline.
Danger of the new weapons
Another fake story presented bogus documents about new load shedding scenarios and yet another purported change in social security grants.
Besides impersonating journalists in deepfake scams, sexually humiliating imagery of our colleagues, designed to intimidate and discredit, is also concocted.
Importantly, though, the News24 report demonstrates how journalism serves as an antidote, bringing to light the immense dangers of these new weapons.
The media is already besieged by powerful political and economic interests for whom certain truths are inconvenient. On top of this, we now face the onslaught of deepfakes, which also causes harm to political and business leaders, celebrities, and indeed ordinary people (especially women and girls, and people investing their personal savings).
While we appreciate G20 countries addressing the issue, we caution against the use of overly broad laws and regulations that, under the guise of criminalising deepfakes, may effectively suppress public interest journalism.
As media organisations, Sanef and Media Monitoring Africa are discussing these issues in a parallel process to the G20, dubbed the M20. Building on the pioneering decisions on information integrity made during Brazil's G20 Presidency last year, this independent initiative aims to sustain momentum and ensure continued engagement throughout 2025 - and beyond.
Support for media freedom
To play our part in the common fight against deepfakes, we need the G20 to show genuine support for media freedom and editorial independence.
Back in Polokwane, Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Solly Matlatsi's comments were therefore welcomed when he assured that government was looking at evolving capabilities of generative AI and risks posed by deepfakes, and that it was 'an issue of growing concern for information integrity and public trust'.
- Sbu Ngalwa is acting secretary-general of The African Editors' Forum (TAEF, treasurer-general of the SA National Editors' Forum (Sanef) and a member of the local M20 organising committee.
For more information about the M20 initiative, visit the website, or contact the M20 secretariat.
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