Election disinformation: an old problem with new tools

Deceiving voters is a internship old as elections themselves. Even in ancient Greece, electoral manipulation through bribery, coercion, and falsification of information was a central concern for citizens. Twenty-five centuries later, the problem persists in a context where citizens are constantly exposed to misinformation.

A new study by Ramón Salaverría, Jordi Rodríguez-Virgili, and Aurken Sierra, researchers at the School Communication at the University of Navarra, examines this global phenomenon in depth in a chapter published in the book Disinformation: A Multi-Disciplinary Analysis. The research the most common objectives of electoral disinformation, the most widespread procedures on a global scale, and their serious short- and long-term political consequences.

"During elections, malicious actors sometimes appear who seek to influence voters with manipulation techniques and through the planned dissemination of falsehoods. To counter this threat, we need to know what the most common tactics are and how they work," explains Ramón Salaverría, author of the study. The researchers analyzed recent episodes of electoral disinformation in countries such as Slovakia, Spain, the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Taiwan, among others, which illustrate how certain manipulation tactics are repeated around the world when an election campaign begins.

Objectives and methods of manipulation

The study identifies several common objectives of electoral disinformation. The first is the demobilization of the electorate: when leave favors a political actor, manipulated messages are detected that seek to discourage voting by generating mistrust in the process. The opposite also occurs, albeit less frequently: the hypermobilization of certain sectors through the artificial creation of a perception of urgency or threat.

Another goal is to foster division and polarization among voters, exacerbating ideological and social differences to weaken social cohesion. In addition, disinformation seeks to erode trust in democratic institutions and discredit specific parties or candidates through false or defamatory information.

Among the most common methods is the falsification of information: the creation and dissemination of false content such as manipulated statements, images, videos, and audio recordings. Researchers document the growing use of deepfakes generated with artificial intelligence. In the 2024 Taiwanese elections, for example, a manipulated video circulated showing candidate Lai allegedly with several mistresses. In the United States, a robotic call with a synthesized voice imitating Joe Biden discouraged participation in the primaries.

Four major narratives of disinformation

The analysis reveals a taxonomy of disinformation narratives used in elections. The most frequent are accusations of electoral fraud, including allegations of software manipulation, forged ballots, or votes cast by deceased persons. The paradigmatic cases of Donald Trump in 2020 and Jair Bolsonaro in 2022 exemplify how these narratives undermine democratic trust.

The second major narrative involves falsifications or attacks on candidates and parties: from manipulated statements to completely fabricated situations, such as the "Pizzagate" case in the 2016 US elections, where Hillary Clinton was falsely accused of being linked to a child network .

The third subject false pre-election polls, used to create favorable perceptions of certain candidates. Finally, there is the manipulation of the diary , especially on sensitive issues such as immigration, insecurity, or taxes.

Consequences for democracy

"The events of January 2021 at the U.S. Capitol and those of 2022 in Brazil demonstrated how disinformation can polarize society, erode trust in democratic institutions, and destabilize the political system as a whole," notes Jordi Rodríguez Virgili, author of the chapter.

The study highlights that the consequences of electoral disinformation are diverse and fall into three main categories: public confidence in elections, systemic effects, and state responses to its spread. The complexity of electoral processes and the tendency of some citizens to distrust institutions exposes elections to various forms of manipulation.

In response to this threat, multiple countries have implemented legal changes. The European Union has adopted significant measures, including the Code of Practice on Disinformation and the proposal on transparency of advertising . France enacted a law against information manipulation in 2018 that allows court orders to prohibit the dissemination of disinformation online.

"The problem of misinformation during election season is very serious and has a global dimension. Since the early days of democracy, the tricks used by liars to deceive voters have been similar; now we know that these tactics are repeated in every corner of the planet," concludes Aurken Sierra.

References:

Salaverría, R., Rodríguez-Virgili, J., & Sierra, A. (2025). Disinformation and Elections. In Disinformation. A Multi-Disciplinary Analysis. Ed. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-00480-2_12