Election Integrity¶
Election integrity refers to the safeguarding of elections from interference, manipulation, and misinformation that could undermine the democratic process. Threats to election integrity include disinformation campaigns that mislead voters, deepfakes of political candidates, foreign state interference, bot-amplified messaging, and erosion of trust in electoral institutions and vote-counting mechanisms.
In the context of misinformation research, election integrity is threatened by:
- Political deepfakes: Synthetic videos and audio of candidates saying things they never said, used to manipulate voter perception
- Computational propaganda: Coordinated, AI-amplified campaigns spreading false or misleading information about candidates or issues
- Foreign interference: State and non-state actors spreading disinformation to sow discord, reduce turnout, or favor particular candidates
- Liar's dividend: Deliberate claims that real (often damaging) content is fake, muddying the epistemic commons and reducing trust in evidence
- Voter suppression: False information about polling locations, voting procedures, or candidate qualifications designed to reduce participation
- Polarization amplification: Disinformation that exacerbates partisan divides and reduces willingness to accept electoral outcomes
Key papers and resources¶
- Hany Farid — Academic Review: Political Deepfakes — forensic detection of deepfakes in the 2024 election, real-world examples, and policy approaches to upstream intervention
Related topics¶
- Political Misinformation — falsehoods in political contexts
- Deepfakes — synthetic video and audio of political figures
- Computational Propaganda — algorithmic and synthetic messaging for political ends
- Foreign Interference — state and non-state actors undermining elections
- Misinformation spread and diffusion — diffusion of false information through social networks