…Unveils AI-powered tracker after documenting 20,000 abuse cases

The Centre for Redefining Alternative Civic Engagement for Africa (RACE Centre) has warned that female politicians could face a fresh wave of online attacks, misinformation and AI-generated smear campaigns as Nigeria prepares for the 2027 general elections.

The organisation raised the alarm on Friday in Abuja while launching its AI-Enabled Online Gender-Based Violence (OGBV) Tracker to mark Pan-African Women’s Day, saying the platform had already documented more than 20,000 verified cases of online abuse within three months of deployment.

 

Executive Director of RACE Centre, Evelyn Ugbe, said the organisation was already anticipating increased online gender-based violence targeting women seeking elective offices.

 

According to her, women from all walks of life, including students, public office holders and aspiring politicians, should be able to participate and thrive in digital spaces without fear of harassment or abuse.

 

She said: “We are going into an election year, and we already foresee some dangers in terms of election-related online misinformation and disinformation.

 

“One of the trends RACE Centre has noticed over the years of monitoring elections, particularly online gender-based violence, is that women political office holders are targeted with smear campaigns aimed at undermining their credibility and candidacy.”

 

She cited the 2025 Anambra governorship election, where the centre tracked online attacks against one of the female governorship candidates through its online gender-based violence dashboard.

 

According to her, the candidate was subjected to cyberbullying, while synthetic artificial intelligence was used to create derogatory images designed to ridicule and discredit her.

 

“The focus was on her body and not on her manifesto and the good plans she had for the state. That completely undermined the credibility of her candidacy,” she said.

 

Ugbe called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), law enforcement agencies, policymakers and civil society organisations to strengthen monitoring and response mechanisms against online gender-based violence before and during elections.

 

Providing background on the AI-powered platform, she disclosed that RACE Centre had previously documented just over 500 cases of digital violence through manual tracking.

 

She said the AI-enabled tracker recorded over 20,000 cases across Africa within three months, with Nigeria accounting for the largest number of incidents.

 

“We are building the tracker further by incorporating more localised terms, keywords and concepts so it responds better to our local context. It is phenomenal, one of its kind, and one of RACE Centre’s legacy projects,” she said.

 

Ugbe also attributed the growing online abuse of women to entrenched patriarchy and misogyny.

 

“We live in a highly patriarchal and misogynistic society. The violence you see offline is simply transferred online. The challenge is that because it happens online, it is often undermined.

 

“But regardless of where violence occurs, it deserves due attention in terms of enforcement, regulation and support for victims,” she added.

 

In her opening remarks, Ugbe said the AI-enabled tracker was developed to provide credible evidence of the growing threat posed by cyberharassment, doxxing, non-consensual deepfakes and threats of sexual violence against women.

 

Speaking, Regional Director, Expansion and Experience at WARDC Africa, Emmanuella Azu, described the initiative as timely, especially with the 2027 elections approaching.

 

She said women have increasingly become targets of coordinated online attacks whenever they seek political office, noting that social media platforms, now critical campaign tools, have also become spaces where female candidates are subjected to cyberbullying, AI-generated fake images and other forms of digital abuse.

 

According to Azu, the psychological impact of such attacks often forces women to withdraw from public engagement, affecting their families, careers and political ambitions.

 

She said the newly launched tracker would generate evidence that civil society organisations could use to engage technology companies such as TikTok, Facebook and Instagram on harmful content hosted on their platforms.

 

“With this tracker, we can begin to engage platform providers using evidence to demonstrate the harm perpetrated through their platforms. That is one of the major gains of today’s initiative,” she said.