Government Launches National Campaign on AI, Deepfakes and Misinformation
The Government of Sierra Leone has launched a National AI and Deepfake Sensitization Campaign to raise public awareness about artificial intelligence, misinformation and digitally manipulated content.
The campaign was launched during a high-level stakeholder forum held under the theme “AI, Misinformation and Sierra Leone’s Information Future.” It is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Information and Civic Education (MoICE), Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovation (MoCTI), and the Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), with support from the World Bank.
The campaign seeks to help citizens understand the opportunities offered by AI while developing the knowledge and skills needed to identify deepfakes, misinformation, manipulated images, cloned voices and fabricated digital content.
Information Minister Chernor Bah urged Sierra Leoneans to embrace AI’s potential for national development while taking deliberate steps to manage its risks. He highlighted its potential to accelerate areas such as medical research and called for responsible AI use and risk mitigation.
Bah disclosed that the government is developing a National AI Policy and advocating for the integration of AI ethics and digital literacy into the national school curriculum.
He also announced the development of info.gov.sl, a centralized platform intended to help citizens verify government communications through unique QR codes. According to Bah, the initiative is part of efforts to strengthen public trust in official information in an increasingly digital environment.
The Minister further called on the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) to formally incorporate bloggers into the wider media ecosystem and subject them to appropriate verification standards. He urged citizens to “check, verify, and double-check” information before sharing it online.
Speaking at the forum, Kumba Liliana Musa, Project Coordinator for the Sierra Leone Digital Transformation Project, said the campaign is designed to address both the opportunities and risks associated with AI.
She noted that Sierra Leone’s investment in digital connectivity, digital skills, cybersecurity and public digital services must be accompanied by efforts to ensure that citizens can safely and confidently navigate the digital environment.
Musa pointed to the rapid spread of misinformation on platforms including WhatsApp, TikTok and Facebook, noting that advances in AI have made it increasingly easy to create convincing deepfake videos, voice clones, manipulated images and fabricated events.
She stressed that the campaign is not intended to create fear around AI, but to encourage citizens to become more informed and critical when consuming and sharing digital information.
Organizers plan to expand the campaign nationwide through music, videos, social media, local languages and direct community engagement, with further phases expected to promote long-term digital responsibility, public awareness and online safety.
The campaign’s central message is “Verify before you share,” urging citizens to pause, question the source, seek credible reporting and verify information before forwarding it through social media and messaging platforms.
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