Political parties and candidates will have 36 hours to publicly retract and correct election-related disinformation once they become aware of it, or face sanctions under electoral law.
The rule forms part of a new Electoral Code of Conduct aimed at closing what the IEC says is a major gap in an electoral framework developed before the social media era.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) says the new rules are necessary as political campaigning increasingly moves online, where false claims, manipulated content and fabricated material can spread rapidly.
IEC Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Dr Victor Shale said the commission was concerned that the existing legal framework had failed to keep pace with the digital information environment.
“The concern has been that the legal framework is inadequate in dealing with the pervasive use of digital and social media,” Shale said.
