The vote on December 5 will not be decided only at the ballot box. It will also be decided on our phones.
As The Gambia heads to a crucial presidential election, a second, invisible election is already underway — the contest of truth over falsehood. And in this election, every Gambian with a smartphone is both a voter and a potential amplifier of lies.
Our reporter’s interactions with voters are revealing. For many, truth is no longer measured by evidence, but by familiarity. If a message comes from an uncle, it must be true. If it appears in ten WhatsApp groups, it must be true.
As IEC’s Demba Jallow, fact-checker Omar Saibo Camara, GPU President Isatou Keita and NCCE’s Mohammed Kanuteh have rightly warned, familiarity is not verification. Popularity is not accuracy. An official-looking flyer is not an official statement.
This is dangerous. In an election, misinformation is not just a nuisance — it is voter suppression in disguise. A fake message about polling requirements can keep an elderly woman in the North Bank Region at home. A fabricated result can inflame a community. A recycled video laced with tribal slurs can undo years of peacebuilding. And with Artificial Intelligence now able to clone voices and manipulate videos, the lies of 2026 will be more convincing than ever before.
We cannot leave this fight to institutions alone.
Yes, the IEC must be faster, more present, and more local. Its credible information must be available not just on its website, but in Wolof, Mandinka, Fula and Jola — on community radio at 8 p.m., and in short voice notes that a grandmother like Fanta Ceesay can understand and trust.
Yes, journalists must live by Isatou Keita’s golden rule: Accuracy over speed. To be first and wrong is to betray the public. In this season, lead with the truth, not the trending lie.
But the ultimate responsibility lies with us — the citizens who forward.
Abdoulie Jobe’s honest confession — that he shared false information and felt embarrassed — is a lesson for us all. Embarrassment today is better than regret tomorrow.
We therefore propose a simple civic oath for every Gambian before December 5:
Pause when your emotions rise higher than your critical thinking. That is the biggest red flag.
Verify the source. Is it on the IEC’s verified page? Is it on a credible news platform? If not, label it “unverified” and stop there.
Then share — only if it is true, useful and peaceful.
A forwarded message is not proof. A familiar sender is not proof. A thousand shares are not proof.
In December, we will choose a President. But in the weeks before that, we will choose what kind of democracy we want to be — one built on rumours, or one built on facts.
Let us choose wisely.