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Politics and Social Media: How Disinformation Campaigns Are Shaping Global Politics



I remember scrolling through my social media feed one morning, only to find a video of a famous politician making outrageous claims. At first glance, it looked real—the voice, the expressions, everything. But it wasn’t. It was a deepfake. It made me pause and wonder: How many people would watch this, believe it, and share it without question?

 

As we navigate a pivotal year in global politics, with major elections that happened in the US, EU, India, and Brazil, disinformation isn’t just a background threat—it’s front and center, shaping opinions, influencing decisions, and, in some cases, undermining democracy itself (Bradshaw & Howard, 2019).

 


The Disinformation Dilemma

Disinformation isn’t new, but its scale and sophistication have evolved drastically. Today, with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, creating convincing fake content is easier than ever. Deepfakes — AI-generated videos and audio clips that can make anyone appear to say or do things they never did — have blurred the line between reality and fiction (Chesney & Citron, 2019). Of course, we’ve all fallen for misleading headlines at least once.

 

Consider the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election, where Donald Trump's re-election campaign became a case study in the strategic use of disinformation. Despite numerous fact-checking efforts, his campaign thrived on misleading narratives about voter fraud, immigration policies, and public health crises (Pew Research Center, 2024). AI-generated content and manipulated videos flooded social media, often spreading false claims faster than facts could catch up. It wasn’t just about politics; it was about trust — trust in institutions, media, and even in our own ability to discern truth from fiction (Wardle & Derakhshan, 2017).

 

In Brazil, during the 2022 elections, viral WhatsApp messages spread conspiracy theories that fuelled political polarisation, targeting vulnerable communities with emotionally charged content (BBC News, 2022). India, too, has faced waves of disinformation, especially during election seasons, where platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp became battlegrounds for spreading divisive narratives (The Guardian, 2023).

 


The Role of Technology and Social Media

Social media was supposed to connect us, but somewhere along the way, it became a breeding ground for disinformation. Algorithms designed to keep us engaged often prioritise sensational content, pushing emotionally charged stories to the top of our feeds (Tufekci, 2018). The result? Truth gets drowned out in a sea of big lies.

What is even more concerning is the role of state-sponsored disinformation campaigns. These aren’t just random trolls on the internet; they’re well-organised efforts to destabilise democracies, influence elections, and erode public trust (Benkler, Faris, & Roberts, 2018). And the scariest part? It works.

 


Democracy vs. Disinformation: The Fight for Truth

So, how do we fight back? How can democracies defend themselves without compromising free speech?

  1. Media Literacy: We need to get better at spotting fake news. This isn’t just about fact-checking; it’s about critical thinking. Teaching media literacy should be as essential as teaching math or science (Mihailidis & Viotty, 2017).

  2. Regulation and Accountability: Tech companies need to be held accountable. The EU's Digital Services Act is a step in the right direction, focusing on transparency and content moderation (European Commission, 2023).

  3. Technology for Good: Interestingly, the same AI tools used to create disinformation can help detect it. Algorithms can identify deepfakes, flag suspicious content, and trace the origins of viral misinformation (Hwang, 2020).

  4. Global Cooperation: Disinformation doesn’t respect borders. Fighting it requires collaboration between governments, tech companies, civil society, and independent media (UNESCO, 2022).

 


The Road Ahead

As new elections approach, staying informed isn’t enough. We need to be actively critical, questioning what we see, hear, and share. Every misleading post, every viral conspiracy, chips away at our collective understanding of truth.

In the end, the fight against disinformation isn’t just about elections. It’s about protecting the very fabric of democracy. Because when truth becomes just another opinion, democracy loses its strongest pillar.


Lola Harding 

 


References

Benkler, Y., Faris, R., & Roberts, H. (2018). Network propaganda: Manipulation, disinformation, and radicalization in American politics. Oxford University Press.

Bradshaw, S., & Howard, P. N. (2019). The global disinformation order: 2019 global inventory of organized social media manipulation. Oxford Internet Institute.

BBC News. (2022). Brazil elections: The role of disinformation in political campaigns. Retrieved from  https://www.bbc.com/news

Chesney, R., & Citron, D. (2019). Deepfakes and the new disinformation war: The coming age of post-truth geopolitics. Foreign Affairs.

European Commission. (2023). The Digital Services Act package. Retrieved from  https://ec.europa.eu/digital-services-act

Hwang, T. (2020). Deepfakes: A ground truth. Brookings Institution.

Mihailidis, P., & Viotty, S. (2017). Spreadable spectacle in digital culture: Civic expression, fake news, and the role of media literacies in "post-fact" society. American Behavioral Scientist, 61(4), 441-454.

Pew Research Center. (2024). The influence of disinformation in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org

The Guardian. (2023). India’s disinformation dilemma: Social media and political manipulation. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com

Tufekci, Z. (2018). Twitter and tear gas: The power and fragility of networked protest. Yale University Press.

UNESCO. (2022). Global report on media and information literacy. Retrieved from https://www.unesco.org

 

 

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