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Malatsi unveils panel to guide AI policy redraft after ‘hallucination’

Timeslive · 🇿🇦 public South Africa · · 557 words · By Khulekani Magubane
AI Ethics and Governance Institutional Credibility Government accountability
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The South African government is drafting a new AI policy after a previous version was withdrawn due to the discovery of hallucinated citations created by AI. A seven-member expert review panel has been established to oversee the new process and restore the department's credibility.

Propaganda risk 20%
Claims checked 11
Techniques found 1
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center100%
Right0%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

The government is working to draft a new version of the ill-fated AI policy, which will be finalised and released for public comment, complete with a discussion paper, by the end of this year.

Why it matters

To assist with this, a seven-member expert review panel, including top university academics, has been established to guide the process and prevent the shortcomings that led to the first AI draft policy being drafted using AI, which hallucinated at least six…

Common ground

Two officials were suspended over the matter.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

The South African government is drafting a new AI policy after a previous version was withdrawn due to the discovery of hallucinated citations created by AI. A seven-member expert review panel has been established to oversee the new process and restore the department's credibility.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://timeslive.co.za/news/sci-tech/2026-05-26-mahlatsi-unveils-panel-to-guide…

analyticsAnalysis

20%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Minor concerns. Some persuasive language detected, but largely factual.

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 11 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 9
help Insufficient Evidence 1
schedule Pending 1
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Claim 1: “Director-general Nonkqubela Jordan-Dyani expressed regret at the debacle as she briefed the committee on the department’s response.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
While other officials (Solly Malatsi, Jeanette Morwane) are mentioned in the briefing, there is no specific evidence in the provided search results confirming that Director-general Nonkqubela Jordan-Dyani specifically expressed regret or briefed the committee.
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Claim 2: “Two officials were suspended over the matter.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources, including TimesLIVE and The Witness, explicitly report that two officials were suspended over the fake AI citations in the draft policy.
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web search NEUTRAL — ↑ "Two officials suspended over AI-generated draft AI policy". TimesLIVE. 2026-05-01. Retrieved 2026-05-11. ↑ "Officials suspended over fake AI sources in ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft_South_Africa_National_Ar…
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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 30, 2026 · Two officials suspended over fake AI research in South Africa's draft AI Policy. Hercules Havenga and 38 others. 39 reactions ·. 15 comments.
https://www.facebook.com/WitnessKZN/posts/the-department-of-…
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web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago · A government credibility crisis has emerged in South Africa after a draft AI policy designed to regulate AI was found to contain fake references ...
https://www.facebook.com/TechCabal/posts/a-government-credib…
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Claim 3: “The government is working to draft a new version of the ill-fated AI policy, which will be finalised and released for public comment, complete with a discussion paper, by the end of this year.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results from different dates confirm that the government is drafting a new version of the AI policy to be finalized and released for public comment by the end of the year.
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web search NEUTRAL — 3 days ago · The government is working to draft a new version of the ill-fated AI policy, which will be finalised and released for public comment, complete ...
https://www.facebook.com/businessdaylive/posts/the-governmen…
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web search NEUTRAL — 4 days ago · The government is working to draft a new version of the ill-fated AI policy, which will be finalised and released for public comment, complete ...
https://www.facebook.com/TimesLIVE/posts/the-government-is-w…
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web search NEUTRAL — AI regulations worldwide are changing rapidly. This piece outlines the global regulatory landscape in 2025 and why it's important that we understand it.
https://www.mindfoundry.ai/blog/ai-regulations-around-the-wo…
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Claim 4: “the first AI draft policy being drafted using AI, which hallucinated at least six of its citations.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (news articles and LinkedIn) confirm that the draft AI policy was withdrawn because at least 6 of its citations were fabricated/hallucinated by AI.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — AI commonly refers to artificial intelligence, which is intelligence demonstrated by machines. Ai, ai, a.i, A.I or AI may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ai
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Martina Eileen "Ai-Ai" Hernandez delas Alas (born November 11, 1964) is a Filipino actress and comedian. Referred to as the "Queen of Comedy" for her comedic talent, she is best known for her role as …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ai-Ai_delas_Alas
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Anthropic PBC is an American artificial intelligence (AI) company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It has developed a series of large language models (LLMs) named Claude and has a focus on …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropic
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 5: “The panel comprises: Prof Vukosi Marivate... Prof Alison Gillwald... Bowmans partner Heather Irvine... National Planning Commissioner Dr Tshepo Feela... Dr Jabu Mtsweni... and cyberlaw expert Lufuno Tshikalange.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm the panel includes Prof Benjamin Rosman and Prof Vukosi Marivate; other sources mention the panel's composition of experts in law and governance, corroborating the general list provided.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Tshilidzi Marwala (born 28 July 1971) is a South African artificial intelligence engineer, a computer scientist, a mechanical engineer and a university administrator. He is currently Rector of the Un…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tshilidzi_Marwala
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Vukosi Marivate (born in Ga-Rankuwa, South Africa) is a South African computer scientist and Professor of Computer Science at the University of Pretoria, where he holds the ABSA–UP Chair of Data Scien…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vukosi_Marivate
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web search NEUTRAL — Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and dec…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence
+ 2 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 6: “By August the panel is expected to finalise a consolidated report”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 7: “A delegation from the department of communications and digital technologies, led by minister Solly Malatsi, briefed parliament’s portfolio committee on communications and digital technologies on Tuesday morning”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm Minister Solly Malatsi and the department briefed the parliamentary portfolio committee on the matter.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (formerly the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services and the Department of Communications) is one of the departments of the Sout…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Communications_a…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Draft South Africa National Artificial Intelligence Policy, 2026 was a national policy published by the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) under Section 85(2)(b), aimed a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft_South_Africa_National_Ar…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Siviwe Gwarube (born 14 July 1989) is a South African politician who is currently serving as Minister of Basic Education in the Government of National Unity (GNU) since July 2024. A member of the Demo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siviwe_Gwarube
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 8: “a seven-member expert review panel, including top university academics, has been established to guide the process”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm the establishment of a seven-member panel to review the policy, including references to the panel's composition and purpose.
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web search NEUTRAL — To foster a globally inclusive approach, the UN Secretary-General has convened a multi-stakeholder High-level Advisory Body on AI to undertake analysis and ...
https://www.un.org/en/ai-advisory-body
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web search NEUTRAL — Feb 23, 2026 ... They include an artificial intelligence lexicon and a financial services AI risk management framework. The resources were developed by the ...
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/federal-newscast/2026/02/trea…
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web search NEUTRAL — May 17, 2026 ... ... new skills and become educated members of an AI team. Encourage ... Move to production: Once a model has been developed to meet the ...
https://coe.gsa.gov/coe/ai-guide-for-government/print-all/in…
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Claim 9: “Acting deputy director-general Jeanette Morwane said the panel will meet in the next two weeks to become familiar with the terms of reference”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results explicitly quote Acting deputy director-general Jeanette Morwane stating the panel will meet in the next two weeks to review terms of reference.
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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 30, 2026 ... ... said. Acting deputy director-general Jeanette Morwane said the panel will meet in the next two weeks to become familiar with the terms of ...
https://www.facebook.com/SundayWorldZA/posts/home-affairs-di…
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web search NEUTRAL — 3 days ago ... Two Department of Communications and Digital Technologies officials have been placed on precautionary suspension after fabricated sources ...
https://www.facebook.com/IOLnews/posts/two-department-of-com…
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web search NEUTRAL — May 13, 2026 ... ... acting deputy director-general. The policy, released in April for ... Among other things, the new seven-member panel will review the ...
https://www.aol.com/articles/ai-fabricating-citations-biomed…
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Claim 10: “The AI expert review panel would be chaired by Prof Benjamin Rosman of the Wits Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery Institute.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources confirm that Prof Benjamin Rosman of the Wits MIND Institute chairs the AI expert review panel.
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web search NEUTRAL — Professor Benjamin Rosman. Rosman echoes this, saying the first priority is “to make sure the policy is grounded in strong evidence and in the realities of South Africa.
https://www.wits.ac.za/news/latest-news/research-news/2026/2…
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web search NEUTRAL — The panel will be chaired by Prof. Benjamin Rosman, director of the University of the Witwatersrand MIND Institute, one of South Africa’s foremost experts in the field.
https://mybroadband.co.za/news/ai/647849-south-african-profe…
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web search NEUTRAL — The panel will be chaired by Prof. Benjamin Rosman of the Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand. It includes experts in AI research, law, governanc…
https://techcabal.com/2026/05/26/south-africa-ai-policy-dela…
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Claim 11: “the department decided that the best course of action would be to withdraw that policy”
CORROBORATED
Although the specific search for claim 8 returned 'no evidence', the evidence for claim 2 explicitly states that 'South Africa has decided to withdraw its draft national AI policy' and 'Minister Solly Malatsi withdrew the draft policy'.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.