A website publishing unofficial election results was checked by our team on October 11 – a day unofficial preliminary results were being announced via radio and social media. The link to the site was sent to us by some of our readers. Our critical review of this website found no basic information about its authenticity and was therefore declared untrusted.
As a fact checking organization, our ultimate concern is to determine the credibility of the website or flag any issues we’ve noticed. The intent is to avert the spread of unofficial results from an untrusted source. Announcement of unofficial election results by untrusted or unknown sources is often a problem during election period.
Why This Verdict
To arrive as this verdict, we did meticulous checks. To verify the credibility of this website, we first observed that the site does not have an “About” section or any other basic information on its operations unlike the posting of election results. Also, we observed that the portal had no methodology on how the results were being collected or collated.
At the bottom of the web page, we noticed the inscription, “Powered by Smart Systems”. Smart System is a software development and Management Consultancy company which developed online school software that is been used in AME University, Stella Maris Polytechnic University, Cuttington University, and other universities in and out of Monrovia.
To further fact check the credibility of the “Smart Election Results Management System”, we first contacted Smart System through the inquiry numbers on the site. A lady working for the software development company answered our call and said the company did not create any website named “Smart Election Results Management System”.
We further tested the site using online tools that confirms details of the domain ownership and safety rating of websites by using Whois. Whois is an online domain ownership information and registration tool. It shows that the website was created on January 18, 2017, but was updated on January 20, 2023. This shows that the website only gets active in election year.
We also observed that the website is not secured, making it vulnerable to hacker or manipulation. We then concluded that the website was untrusted. This was intended to flag the portal to the public.
What Happened Next
Following the publication of our fact check report, our fact checking desk was informed by a reader that the link to the “Smart Election Results Management System” portal was being shared by the Editor of The Stage Media – an organization also engaged with fact checking in Liberia.
When we contacted the Editor of TSM, we were told that the portal was on the TSM website but due to issues with the website, it had to be migrated to another website.
Following the clarity by TSM, we requested that the portal is moved back to the TSM official website and that a disclaimer and methodology for the collection of the data be made public on the website. We agreed to do this explainer after this is done. Our interest is to ensure that the public relies on credible information and that persons/organizations sharing information are held accountable.
Hours later, we were informed by TSM that the portal publishing unofficial election results have been migrated back to the TSM official website.
What Went Wrong
We were also contacted by Mr. Dobor Bedell, Founder and owner of Smart Systems and Developer of the Smart Elections Results Management System (SERMS), who said that his firm was contracted by TSM to develop the portal.
Mr. Bedell told us in a WhatsApp exchange that when TSM hired his firm to develop the system, he did inform his staff about the contract, adding, “Because of the sensitivity of the project, I decided to do it personally without the involvement of my full team. None of my staff knew of it including my General Manager, the lady you called.”
He further wrote: “After it was developed and tested locally, I decided to test it on my online server and shared the link with Bettie and her team to test. It was not meant for the public. After the test was successfully completed, I turned the work over to the IT team of TSM and the installed it on TSM server. I then proceeded to shut down the testing address on our server.”
Mr. Bedell also informed us that TSM was not supposed to go live with the portal while the system was still being finalized by his team.
“No, they were not. Smart Systems is software development company and can only develop apps and has nothing to do with election data entry or display,” he said.
Conclusion
Based on the new trend of events following the publication of our fact check report on the credibility of the portal publishing unofficial election results, we conclude that the previous portal was untrusted due to lack of security, basic information, disclaimer and methodology. However, now that the portal has ben re-migrated to TSM website, results there are considered as “unofficial” since the National Elections Commission (NEC) is the only body authorized by law to announce election results.
