The Politics of Fake News

👉 This is part of Truth Hunters

As we enter the age of AI, we also enter democracy’s largest year yet. Two global megaforces converge: which way will the masses sway?

Evidence A: 2024 Year of Democracy

2024 is the biggest election year in history. Over half the world’s population will vote across 60 countries, from mammoth India to tiny North Macedonia. Some free and above board, others… will be held in North Korea. With so many casting their vote, and so many powers at stake - including a possible second round of Trump and the spectre of the Far Right in Europe - democracy itself will come under scrutiny, depending on the way the die is cast by the end of the year.

Evidence B: Bots n’ Votes

Imagery created to sway African American voters

Since the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke, the invisible hand that sways voters has evolved; bots have become part and parcel of political campaigning. In the US, even a Nickelodeon mock-election was hit with 130,000 fraudulent votes. Brazil has made moves to ban deepfakes and AI generated content by candidates ahead of October’s election, whilst the US sits unprepared for what has been dubbed ‘the AI election’.