Election Season Does Strange Things to the Internet

Pauline Kire
6 days ago
3 min read

A woman in a yellow jacket looks surprised, hands slightly raised, illustrating shock or concern often triggered by alarming or misleading online information.

Elections Month Has Entered the Group Chat

There is something about election season in Uganda that does strange things to the internet. WhatsApp groups that have been quiet for months suddenly wake up. Everyone knows someone who “works somewhere.” And public notices begin circulating faster than context.

So when a very official-looking “public notice” allegedly from the Uganda Communications Commission started making rounds — warning people to withdraw their bank money, prepare for mobile money shutdowns, and brace for impact — internet suspension — it didn’t feel impossible. It felt… plausible. And that’s what made it dangerous.

Disinformation Doesn’t Shout Anymore — It Clears Its Throat Politely

This wasn’t a chaotic message written at 2 a.m. with spelling errors and vibes. It was calm. Professional. Well laid out. The kind of document that looks like it was made by someone who owns a blazer.

And that’s the point.

Modern disinformation doesn’t arrive screaming. It arrives sounding reasonable, wearing borrowed authority, and gently suggesting you act quickly — but responsibly, of course. It doesn’t insult your intelligence. It flatters it. That’s why even people who normally say, “I don’t forward things like that,” paused. Not because they were careless, but because the message knew exactly where to press.

Panic Was the Actual Announcement

If you read that notice and immediately started calculating how much money you have in your account, you’re not alone. If your first instinct was to send it to the family group so everyone can “prepare,” congratulations — the message worked exactly as designed.

Disinformation doesn’t always want belief. Sometimes it just wants momentum.

The moment a message makes you feel like time is running out — like you need to act now now — thinking becomes optional. And once panic enters the chat, logic politely excuses itself.

“Let Me Forward This Just in Case” Has Never Saved Anyone

Most people who shared that notice were not malicious. They were concerned. Helpful. Trying to look out for others. Unfortunately, “just in case” is one of the most expensive phrases on the internet.

Forwarding unverified information during an election period doesn’t protect communities. It destabilizes them. Fear spreads faster than facts, and by the time official clarification arrives, the message has already visited every group from Church Elders to Old School Friends 2009.

In this case, UCC had to publicly clarify that the notice did not originate from them — which is never ideal, because no institution enjoys being introduced to its own announcement via WhatsApp.

Logos Are Not Magic Spells

One uncomfortable truth of the digital age is that logos are cheap. Fonts are free. Templates are everywhere. Anyone with enough confidence and internet access can make something look official.

Real national decisions that affect banks, mobile money, and the entire internet do not debut as forwarded images with a “For More Details” button that leads nowhere. They come with verified statements, official platforms, and sources you can actually trace.

If a message claims to affect the whole country but only exists as a screenshot, that gap matters.

Staying Alert Without Becoming Paranoid

Cyber awareness isn’t about distrusting everything or assuming the internet is out to get you personally. It’s about resisting pressure. It’s about noticing when a message tries to rush you emotionally before it convinces you intellectually.

Elections are about choice. Disinformation tries to take that choice away by flooding the space with urgency, fear, and half-truths. The quiet flex is slowing down, checking one official source, and refusing to forward what you haven’t confirmed.

Sometimes the safest response online is doing nothing.

Final Thought

Not every message dressed in authority deserves your trust. And not every urgent notice is urgent because it’s true.

This election season, staying informed doesn’t mean staying anxious. It means staying awake — even when everyone else is already forwarding.

And if a message wants your panic more than your understanding, that alone should tell you enough.

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