Botswana’s Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) has expressed concern at what it called a concerted campaign to misinform the public about an alleged conspiracy by government institutions to influence the outcome of Wednesday’s elections.
According to DIS spokesperson Edward Robert, there is an elaborate plan to discredit the spy agency and other government institutions involved in election administration by spreading falsehoods via social media.
“The DIS has previously warned the public about efforts by individuals who are running sophisticated and well sponsored disinformation campaigns whose goal is to publicise the impression that there is a state of chaos ahead of Botswana elections,” said Robert.
He said the tactic is to craft conspiracies in which public institutions are portrayed as rogue, corrupt, incompetent and highly politicised.
“The latest such attempts are trending posts in social media in which fake accounts of media houses are created and posts made to depict the DIS, among other institutions, as being involved in underhand tactics meant to compromise the integrity of the polls,” he said.
Fake news is a type of yellow journalism or propaganda that consists of deliberate disinformation or hoaxes spread via traditional news media or online social media.
Robert’s comments came as close to a million Batswana voted to directly elect members of parliament and, indirectly, the president. The leader of the party with the highest number of parliamentary votes automatically becomes the president.
The run-up to Wednesday’s poll has been characterised by allegations of meddling by the DIS in the administration of the election, resulting in main opposition leader Boko Duma of the Umbrella for Democratic Change threatening to reject any results tainted by fraud.
KO/jn/APA