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Latest / Government and geopolitics

PolicyGovernmentSouth AfricaConfirmed

South Africa withdraws its draft AI policy over fake AI-generated citations

See how this story connects

Source: SAnews

Communications Minister Solly Malatsi withdrew South Africa’s Draft National AI Policy, approved by cabinet for comment in March and April 2026 and gazetted on 10 April, after an internal check confirmed fictitious sources in its reference list. He said the most plausible explanation was AI-generated citations included without checking, and promised consequences for those responsible.

Why it matters

South Africa’s national AI policy is back to drafting after the draft cited references that did not exist.

When
26 Apr 2026
ID
WTA-N-2026-0122
Who
Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (South Africa); Solly Malatsi
Rules involved

Summary by wheresthe.ai, from SAnews. Checked against the source on 9 Oct 2026.

Read the original at SAnews

Source copy: download the page as saved on 18 Oct 2026 (PDF). Document the source offers: document 1 (PDF). Also held by the Internet Archive.

Cite this story

WTA-N-2026-0122: “South Africa withdraws its draft AI policy over fake AI-generated citations.” wheresthe.ai, 26 Apr 2026. https://wheresthe.ai/d/za-draft-ai-policy-withdrawn-2026-04/ (source: SAnews).

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