Deepfakes: Experts urge Nigerian brands to build crisis-response strategies

Mercy Iheoma Ihedigbo

Nigerian organisations have been urged to strengthen their crisis-management plans, establish clear governance frameworks for artificial intelligence and invest in reputation management ahead of the growing threat of deepfakes, rather than waiting until a crisis occurs.

That was the consensus at a virtual webinar organised by MSc Media and Communication students of Pan-Atlantic University on Friday, 25 September 2026. The session, held on Microsoft Teams, drew 107 communication professionals, marketers, journalists, lecturers and students.

It came days after the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) warned about a fake, AI-generated Facebook advert that used the images of President Bola Tinubu, Minister of Finance Taiwo Oyedele and Aliko Dangote to promote a fraudulent investment scheme.

Opening the session, Head of the Careers Office at Pan-Atlantic University, Mrs Nkiru Ukachukwu, reminded participants of their personal responsibility.

“We have a duty of care to ensure that whatever we spread is authentic,” she said, urging everyone to check accuracy and ethics before sharing.

Delivering the keynote, Scaling Data and Tech Innovation Specialist Adenike Aloba said AI has transformed the environment in which brands operate, but not the principles of managing them.

“AI has changed the conditions in which reputation is managed more than it has changed the fundamentals of reputation management,” she said.

She urged organisations to think about AI through three lenses: what others do with AI against them, what their own use of AI could do to them, and how they can use AI without losing sight of strategy.

On responding to fakes, she cautioned: “Speed does not mean panic.” Brands should first assess the reach, credibility and potential harm of a fake before deciding how to respond.

Citing the Air Canada case, where the airline was held responsible after its chatbot gave a customer wrong information about its bereavement fare policy, she said communicators should be “in the room at conception, not at crisis” whenever their organisations deploy AI.

“You cannot outsource your brand strategy to AI,” she added.

Dr Oludare Ogunyombo, faculty member at Olabisi Onabanjo University and Chairman of the Training and Professional Development Committee of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), said: “Nothing has changed, but a lot has been added.”

He warned that detection tools can be unreliable, recounting how one of his academic papers received a 5% similarity score from his institution’s checker but was flagged as 90% AI-generated by a journal’s tool.

General Secretary of the NIPR Lagos Chapter, Samuel Adeyemi, described AI-generated content as “the new normal”, but admitted, “we are not adequately prepared for this new normal.”

He said the institute has introduced AI-focused training for practitioners, and urged communicators to stop complaining about not being at the decision-making table and instead “take our seats and go into the boardroom where the decisions are being taken.”

Divisional Director at Marketing Edge, Anietie Udoh, warned that many professionals now use AI as a shortcut at the expense of creativity.

“Here is the tool, but how well do you want to use that?” he asked.

Group Head, Marketing and Communications at CapitalSage Holdings, Ilabeshi Gabriel, said his organisation has set up an AI committee and a standard operating procedure, with legal and information security teams reviewing AI platforms before adoption.

“We will not say we won’t use it, but we need to know the limitations and guide against it,” he said.

A highlight was “The Deepfake Drill”, a live simulation in which the panel managed a fictional crisis at Harmattan Bank after a fake video of its Managing Director announcing a ₦20,000 daily withdrawal limit gained 1,200 reposts in 20 minutes.

Aloba called for rapid assessment, a credible spokesperson across every channel, legal action against the source and personal outreach to key stakeholders. Adeyemi warned that legal action must be handled carefully so the bank is not seen as bullying the public, while Gabriel recommended debunking the fake and then reassuring customers over 30 to 90 days, because “trust is not a feeling, it’s a process.”

Pioneer Head of Public Relations at MTN Nigeria and CEO of Xlr8 Limited, Calixthus Okoruwa, described AI as one more source of risk that organisations must manage within a sound crisis framework.

“AI makes that framework even more necessary, even more pertinent,” he said, adding that a strong reputation remains a brand’s best protection because the public is less likely to believe a fake that contradicts its track record.

Moderating the session, communications professional Bemigho Awala said safeguarding reputation in the AI era requires technology, governance, leadership and ethical judgement, not communications alone.

“The question is no longer whether organisations will encounter synthetic media,” he said, “but how prepared they will be.”

The organisers distilled the discussion into a five-stage framework for Nigerian organisations facing AI-generated misinformation: detection, verification, decision, response and recovery.

Giving the vote of thanks, Ololade Adeniji said: “We cannot stop people from faking things, but we can always be ready.”