AI deception hits 60% of surveyed Africans

A pervasive surge in generative artificial intelligence content is creating widespread deception and eroding public trust across digital platforms.

A landmark study published by digital rights organisation Paradigm Initiative, titled ' Trusting AI: Unpacking the deception on social media platforms' and authored by research lead Sani Suleiman, has revealed that synthetic content is no longer an emerging novelty — it has become a daily reality.

“Generative artificial intelligence has introduced a new kind of pollution into the information environment. Like environmental pollution, it does not announce itself. It seeps in quietly, invisibly, mixing with legitimate content until the entire information ecosystem becomes difficult to breathe,” it states.

The report documents an information ecosystem saturated with synthetic media, where 83 per cent of surveyed internet users encounter AI-generated material frequently or very frequently.