Home Affairs refers AI-driven anti-asylum disinformation to IEC after directive sparks backlash

Department rejects online attacks and vows to act after AI images spread

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) said on Wednesday it would refer a wave of disinformation, including AI-generated images, to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) after criticism over a new directive on asylum seekers.

The directive followed a Constitutional Court judgment in favour of the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town that found parts of the Refugees Act of 1998 unconstitutional. The department said it had “vigorously opposed” that judgment and stressed it was constitutionally obliged to implement the court’s decision.

AI imagery and social media posts

News that Home Affairs was opening refugee reception centres to undocumented foreign nationals was accompanied online by several AI-generated images. One image promoted a national shutdown of DHA offices while another depicted the DA’s Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille alongside Minister Leon Schreiber welcoming “asylum seekers from Africa”.

The DHA said the content was false and condemned those spreading it. The department announced the matter would be referred to the Electoral Commission of South Africa for further action under the newly published Code of Conduct on Countering Disinformation.

“The department condemns, in the strongest terms, the peddlers of this disinformation. The matter will be referred to the Electoral Commission of South Africa for further action under the newly published Code of Conduct on Countering Disinformation.”

Department clarifies legal effects of the judgement

The DHA reiterated that the Constitutional Court’s judgment did not automatically grant asylum seekers citizenship, nor was it a “blanket legalisation” of undocumented foreign nationals. The department said it would continue to fulfil its constitutional obligations regardless of the outcome of related litigation.

“At the same time, the deliberate spreading of disinformation designed to inflame tensions and violence is a threat to the stability of our society,”

The department called on South Africans to verify information before sharing it and said officials face daily incitement and disinformation.

Political reaction and threats

March and March leader and SA First Forum founder Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma reacted angrily to the asylum seeker directive, saying it had effectively allowed anyone to claim refugee status without considering implications.

Ngobese-Zuma was also subjected to social media abuse and said she had received death and rape threats. The ANC asked law enforcement to investigate the profile making the threats and said:

“No disagreement gives anyone licence to threaten the life, bodily integrity or dignity of another person. Such alleged content is particularly reprehensible in a society confronting the persistent scourge of gender-based violence and feminicide, and must be rejected without qualification.”

ActionSA parliamentary chief whip Lerato Ngobeni warned the directive’s consequences could be “disastrous” and called on Minister Leon Schreiber to answer eight key questions about the policy, including anticipated volumes and timeframes for asylum applications and whether reception centres would be established closer to the border.

What the DHA says it will do next

The department said it would challenge the false messaging and proceed with implementing the Constitutional Court’s directive as required. It framed the disinformation campaign as a deliberate attempt to inflame tensions and destabilise constitutional order.