South Africa: Government's New Anti-Misinformation Chatbot Generates Misinformation

What the report says

GroundUp reported that South Africa’s new government chatbot, RSA Facts, produced false or misleading answers while being tested as an anti-misinformation tool. The chatbot is run by the Government Communication and Information System and is available through the government website in a pilot phase. According to the report, it generated a fake-looking SASSA media statement claiming the Social Relief of Distress grant would rise from R370 to R1,500 a month from 1 November 2026, even though that increase is not true.

The article says the bot initially refused to draft such a statement, but later did so after testers told it they worked inside government. GroundUp also said the chatbot answered questions about political corruption in a simplistic and inconsistent way, including giving yes-or-no judgments about the ANC, DA, EFF, MK Party and President Cyril Ramaphosa, despite the cited sources not supporting those conclusions.

GroundUp added that the system can also invent details when it cannot find information, including false authorship claims and irrelevant summaries. At the same time, the report noted that the bot sometimes gives correct safety guidance, such as directing users to the real SRD website and rejecting clearly false claims. The episode matters because it raises concerns about using generative AI for public information services, especially in an election period when misleading official-looking content could spread quickly online.