When trust matters most: Real411 takes on a critical role in South Africa’s fight against election disinformation.
We are living through a time when it is becoming increasingly difficult to know what is real, what has been manipulated and what has been deliberately created to mislead us.
AI-generated content, fake accounts, automated bots and coordinated networks can amplify false narratives, create confusion and manipulate public opinion. The problem grows when ordinary people unknowingly become part of that chain, sharing something they believe to be true and giving it even greater reach.
During an election, the consequences can be particularly serious.
When we started working on Real411, it wasn’t simply about redesigning a website or refreshing a brand. It was about helping to create a trusted, accessible way for people to report potentially harmful content, while making a complex assessment process easier to navigate.
This was a collaborative effort with Moxii Africa, formerly Media Monitoring Africa, the NGO behind Real411; Exonic Solutions, the technology partner responsible for the platform’s development and ongoing support since 2019; and the Electoral Commission of South Africa.
Our focus was on elevating the brand, narrative and UX/UI experience, mapping the journeys of citizens, administrators and assessors to make Real411 clearer, more accessible and more trusted.
“It’s one thing having a tool that works; it’s another having it work seamlessly, and even more challenging when it must be both a public-facing tool and a rigorous system that builds in integrity and fairness. The most challenging part of all is getting all the pieces to work together and making it appear as simple as possible. To do this requires skill, commitment, long hours and expertise. Numinara and Exonic are key to the success of Real411, and we are hugely grateful to them.”
William Bird, Director, Moxii Africa
Today, that work has reached a milestone we are incredibly proud to share.
Real411 has officially been designated by the Electoral Commission of South Africa as the online complaints mechanism for reporting disinformation under the Electoral Code of Conduct for the Local Government Elections.
The designation was formally published in the South African Government Gazette on 4 September 2026.
For our team, seeing a platform we helped transform play a formally recognised role in supporting electoral integrity is incredibly rewarding.
It is also a reminder that good design isn’t simply about how something looks. At its best, it makes complex systems easier to navigate, helps people make better-informed decisions and builds trust.
We are enormously proud to have played our part alongside the organisations and people who have built, supported and championed Real411.
In a world where knowing what to trust is becoming harder, giving people somewhere trusted to turn matters more than ever.
