By Josephine Sesay
In today’s world, democracy is under siege not from guns or tanks, but from tweets, deepfakes, and viral WhatsApp broadcasts. In fragile democracies like Sierra Leone, the unchecked rise of digital disinformation is already undermining trust in institutions and threatening social stability.
During Sierra Leone’s recent election cycles, social media became a battlefield of lies and propaganda. Fake audio clips of political leaders, doctored videos, and AI-generated images circulated widely without verification. Some were crafted to stir tribal tensions, others to discredit opponents. In a country still healing from civil war, this kind of information warfare is not just reckless it is dangerous.
For too long, democracy in Sierra Leone has been equated with the act of voting. But real democracy requires informed choices and when those choices are shaped by lies, manipulation, and fear, what legitimacy does an election result truly hold?
The 2023 general elections, marred by post-election violence and disputes over transparency, showed how dangerous unchecked disinformation can be. Rumors online fueled anger on the streets, proving the line between digital manipulation and real-world unrest is perilously thin.
Unlike older democracies with stronger institutional checks and higher media literacy, Sierra Leone lacks the infrastructure to withstand this tidal wave of misinformation. With WhatsApp and Facebook serving as the main news sources for many citizens, falsehoods spread faster than facts. Traditional media, already hampered by limited funding and training, struggles to compete with the speed and reach of online propaganda.
Regulators like NATCOM and the Cyber Security and Crime Act have tried to respond, but their efforts are often criticized as reactive, politicized, or suppressive. Genuine concerns about fake news have also been used to silence journalists and opposition voices blurring the line between protecting democracy and undermining it.
Artificial intelligence has supercharged the problem. With just a few clicks, false statements can be generated in a leader’s voice, or fabricated images of political violence can be produced. Once released, these fakes spread across tribal and political lines faster than fact-checkers can respond, deepening divisions and eroding trust.
If Sierra Leone is to safeguard its democracy, urgent steps are needed, citizens need the skills to question and verify the information they consume, starting with schools and community programs.
Journalists must be trained, protected, and adequately funded to report truth, especially during election cycles.
The government should create transparent, accountable frameworks to fight fake news without abusing these powers for political gain.
Global platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook must take Sierra Leone’s challenges seriously, building stronger safeguards in local languages.
Sierra Leone is not alone. From the United States to Brazil, democracies everywhere are grappling with the corrosive power of digital disinformation. But in younger democracies, the stakes are higher, the institutions weaker, and the risks of failure far more severe.
Democracy in Sierra Leone is not dead but it is under siege. The fight is no longer confined to ballot boxes or parliament chambers. It is happening on our phones, our timelines, and in our inboxes. If we fail to defend democracy there, we risk losing it everywhere.
Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Wednesday, 24th September, 2025 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
