BY: Habeeb Adisa
Disability advocates, journalists, fact-checkers and communications professionals have called for urgent reforms to make fact-checking tools and election information more accessible to persons with disabilities (PWDs), warning that misinformation will continue to undermine inclusive democratic participation unless accessibility is treated as a core component of information integrity.
The call was made during the maiden edition of PWD Spotlight’s X Space titled “Election Misinformation & Disability: Protecting the Votes of Persons with Disabilities,” held on Saturday, 1 August 2026. The virtual discussion brought together experts and disability advocates to examine how misinformation disproportionately affects persons with disabilities before, during, and after elections while identifying practical solutions to improve access to credible information.
The discussion featured Oluwaseye Ogunsanya, a fact-checking journalist and researcher at FactCheckAfrica; Oluwatomisin Adeyefa, Executive Director of Purple Abilities Initiative; and Kofoworola Komolafe, journalist, radio presenter and advocate for persons with albinism.
Participants consistently returned to one central concern: persons with disabilities remain underserved by both electoral communication systems and the growing fact-checking ecosystem.
Opening the discussion on accessible election information, participants stressed that electoral information, including polling dates, locations, candidate information and voting procedures, must be provided in formats that accommodate diverse disabilities.
They argued that accessibility should include sign language interpretation, captions, audio formats, easy-to-read content and other inclusive communication methods rather than treating disability inclusion as an afterthought.
Miss Kofoworola recounted a personal experience of being discouraged from voting after struggling to locate the correct polling unit and receiving dismissive treatment from an election official, illustrating how inaccessible information and institutional attitudes can suppress political participation.
Speaking from a fact-checking perspective, Mr. Ogunsanya identified collaboration as one of the most effective ways to improve access to trustworthy election information. He urged governments, election management bodies and civil society organisations to work more closely with organisations representing persons with disabilities so that accessibility becomes part of election planning rather than an afterthought.
One thing that will go a long way towards solving the issue of leaving people behind is collaboration. We cannot overemphasise the place of collaboration… Whenever government is making a decision, it should include these representatives in the decision-making process so that the interests of persons with disabilities are considered.
Ogunsanya also drew attention to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Framework on Access and Participation of Persons with Disabilities, noting that Nigeria already possesses policies guaranteeing accessible election materials, voting assistance and ballot secrecy for persons with disabilities. According to him, implementation—not policy availability remains the greatest challenge. He further advocated the use of digital technology to improve access to election information.
Building on this discussion, Mrs Adeyefa argued that accessibility should never be reduced to a single solution such as Braille. She explained that disability communities are highly diverse, noting that not every blind person reads Braille and that educational backgrounds differ widely within disability communities.
Making information available means providing it in diverse formats. For instance, I am a blind person, and I am not a fan of reading Braille. What about someone who does not know how to read Braille?… We must consider that diversity when making information available, she noted.
She maintained that election information should therefore be distributed in multiple accessible formats while emphasising that organisations of persons with disabilities remain trusted channels for disseminating verified information to disability communities across Nigeria.
DPOs and OPDs are the go-to organisations for getting information to diverse persons with disabilities… Persons with disabilities trust their leaders and will believe information that comes through them, she continued.
A significant portion of the discussion focused on fact-checking itself, exposing what participants described as a major gap within the information integrity ecosystem.
Responding to questions on how persons with disabilities could independently verify election information online, Ogunsanya recommended practical verification techniques, including Google Reverse Image Search, encouraging participants to verify suspicious claims through recognised fact-checking organisations and by consulting trusted individuals whenever information appears questionable.
However, he acknowledged what became one of the discussion’s strongest findings: many existing fact-checking tools are not designed with accessibility in mind.
I have not really come across fact-checking tools that are fully accessible to persons with disabilities,” he observed, urging media organisations and fact-checking institutions to integrate accessibility into the design of future verification tools and strategies.
The concern was echoed by a guest journalist, who questioned whether visually impaired persons could realistically navigate technical verification processes such as reverse image searches without additional support. He called on technology developers, media organisations and fact-checking initiatives to prioritise accessible verification technologies capable of serving persons with diverse disabilities.
Throughout the discussion, speakers repeatedly highlighted collaboration with disability organisations as essential for ensuring that verified election information reaches intended audiences. Participants argued that disability organisations understand the communication preferences, accessibility requirements and local contexts of their members, making them indispensable partners for governments, media organisations and election stakeholders.
Closing the conversation, reflections on the implications of the discussion for the wider fact-checking community. It was noted that while significant progress has been made in combating misinformation, accessibility has yet to become a central consideration in the design of many digital platforms, websites and public communication systems.
The moderator also announced that PWDSpotlight intends to continue the conversation through future public dialogues and practical training sessions aimed at equipping persons with disabilities with digital verification skills and strengthening inclusive participation in elections and public life.
The discussion concluded with a shared message: protecting electoral integrity requires more than correcting false claims. It requires ensuring that every citizen, including persons with disabilities can access, understand, verify and trust the information upon which democratic participation depends.
The X Space marks the first in a planned series of disability-focused conversations, with first held under FactCheckAfrica’s #CheckBeforeYouPost campaign, which seeks to strengthen public resilience against misinformation by promoting digital literacy, responsible online behaviour, and inclusive access to verified information.
