After accusations of fraud were raised by Trump without evidence
In 2022, fake news dominates elections around the world
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From the United States to Brazil, passing through Israel, disinformation campaigns marked the elections that were organized in 2022, although many voters were not drawn into these tactics, which aim to sow doubt about democratic paths.
Fake news swept Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube with modified images aimed at manipulating voters, as well as videos that rely on deepfake, an artificial intelligence technology based on replacing a face. otherwise.
Various platforms are accused of failing to combat these threats.
Many American candidates resorted to former President Donald Trump's anti-democratic tactics, such as assurances of electoral fraud without providing evidence, but contrary to the expectations of the Republicans who were counting on a "red wave" in the mid-term elections, most of the candidates, who were supported by the president, suffered a crushing defeat. the previous.
Mike Caulfield, a researcher at the Center for Informed Public Opinion at the University of Washington, told AFP that Republican leaders "seem to have come to terms with the idea that the adoption of the conspiracy theory has led to bad choices for candidates, limited voter mobilization, and Sowing distrust among them, and to many other pests ».
"Many will now try to distance their supporters from conspiracy theories about electoral fraud," he added.
In Brazil, where the second round of the presidential elections witnessed a competition between right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro and left-wing candidate Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, the election campaign was replete with disinformation, as the outgoing president denounced, like Donald Trump, the occurrence of electoral fraud, without stating Highlights any evidence.
Lula eventually won. While opinion polls show that most Brazilian voters still trust electronic voting, analysts warn that combating disinformation still needs serious efforts.
"deceptive" speech
In Israel, too, the Likud Party, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, launched a campaign to “stop the fraud” as soon as new elections were announced.
The party and its supporters have repeatedly emphasized these accusations, to improve the chances of winning, according to analysts.
Ashiya Shatz, of the anti-disinformation group Fake Reporter, says: “The Likud has promoted allegations that the polls are rigged, and that the electoral commission in Israel is controlled by the (deep state),” meaning that senior officials secretly control the joints of government.
Likud and its right-wing allies won the majority of seats in Parliament, opening the door to a possible return of Netanyahu to power.
Netanyahu did not object to the outcome of the ballot.
Donald Trump's spectrum also hangs over politics in Hungary, where the former US president supported the far-right Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, before the April elections, which were punctuated by great disinformation.
According to a study by the Hungarian think tank "Political Capital", Viktor Orban's party, Fidesz, has made maximum use of its control over the media to publish untrue or hoax allegations and accusations against its opponents.
Ahead of the poll, Orban, a great ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, asserted without any evidence that his opponents had “concluded an agreement with the Ukrainians” to provide them with weapons and aid in the event of their victory.
Fidesz won a landslide.
effective tool
The world in general is witnessing an increasing propensity for media misinformation regarding elections, which reduces public opinion's confidence in democratic institutions, and may lead to chaos, as some may seek to manipulate the results.
In the Philippines, disinformation via social media reached "unprecedented" levels during the presidential elections in May, says Rachel Khan of the fact-checking network Techc-F.
She expresses her regret that the news verification processes “do not have a significant impact,” noting that there is a “competency problem in the media.”
Even those who say they know how to detect misinformation do not know that.
In Kenya, the two front-runners in the presidential elections, William Ruto and Raila Odinga, have been accused of hiring digital "fighters".
Fake news began to circulate about a year before the elections last August, especially "deep fake" videos.
Kenya's High Court confirmed William Ruto's election, but many Odinga supporters remain convinced of fraud.
Elections are due next year in Nigeria, and similar tactics are already emerging on social media.
In the United States, analysts have warned that campaigns that sow doubt about the integrity of the electoral process may revive with the approach of the 2024 elections, especially after Donald Trump announced his candidacy.
"Disinformation remains a powerful tool, and it will continue to be used by all parties who don't recognize the results of an election they don't win," said Pamela Smith of the independent Verified Voting group.
• Fake news swept Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube with modified images aimed at manipulating voters, as well as deepfake videos, an artificial intelligence technology based on Replacing one face with another. Many US candidates have resorted to Donald Trump's anti-democratic tactics, such as assertions of electoral fraud without providing evidence.
• The world in general is witnessing an increasing propensity for media misinformation regarding elections, which reduces public opinion's confidence in democratic institutions, and may lead to chaos, as some may seek to manipulate the results.
• In Israel, the Likud Party, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, launched the "Stop the Fraud" campaign, as soon as it announced new elections. The party and its supporters have repeatedly made these accusations to improve their chances of winning, analysts said.
• The spectrum of Donald Trump also hangs over politics in Hungary, where the former US president supported the far-right Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, before the April elections, which were marred by great disinformation.
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