The 2024 election is already experiencing the impact of AI-driven misinformation. Fake videos, misleading articles, and doctored images are spreading faster than ever, causing confusion, eroding trust, and deepening divisions.
This rise in AI election misinformation in 2024 is making it harder for voters to separate fact from fiction, threatening both the integrity of the election and democracy itself.
Voters are bombarded with content designed to deceive and manipulate. While AI amplifies these falsehoods, it also offers solutions.
In this blog, we’ll explore how AI in politics spreads and combats misinformation and share tips to help you avoid falling for fake election news.
Experts Warn AI and Deepfakes Politics Will Likely Intensify in Future Elections
Governments and organizations are stepping up their efforts to tackle the increasing threat of AI election misinformation in 2024:
- The FCC has banned AI-generated robocalls designed to mislead voters.
- A Davos report identified AI-powered election misinformation as a critical short-term global threat.
- A new survey reveals that most Americans don’t trust AI-powered election information, indicating widespread public concern.
- Meta has launched an elite team to combat AI misuse in upcoming EU elections.
- Donald Trump falsely claimed a photo with E. Jean Carroll was AI-generated, showcasing how easily AI misinformation can spark confusion.
- California passed laws to combat election deepfakes, pressuring social media to limit misleading AI content.
The Growing Threat of Misinformation in the 2024 Election
There is an alarming rise in AI Election Misinformation 2024, with deepfakes, AI-generated news articles, and doctored videos being used to spread false political narratives. This surge of misleading content makes it increasingly difficult for voters to separate fact from fiction.
For instance, an AI-generated robocall in New Hampshire imitated President Biden’s voice, urging voters not to participate in the primary (AARP, 2024). This manipulation is a clear example of how AI can distort electoral processes, creating confusion and distrust among voters (PhillyVoice, 2024).
Experts warn that misinformation is evolving, making it easier to create AI fake news and harder to detect.
The World Economic Forum ranks misinformation and disinformation as the top global risk over the next two years, surpassing extreme weather events and societal polarization.
Even in the long term (10 years), misinformation remains a key threat, ranking fifth among global risks (World Economic Forum, 2024).
To help voters combat this, the News Literacy Project has launched a “Misinformation Dashboard,” providing tools to recognize misleading content before it impacts their voting decisions.
“A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth can get its pants on” (Miles Taylor, Chief Policy Officer with The Future US)
For more information, watch the full CBS News report here.
What’s the Motivation Behind AI Election Misinformation 2024?
Misinformation during elections is often motivated by political, financial, and ideological factors. Michael Kaiser, CEO of Defending Digital Campaigns, highlights that misinformation isn’t just about influencing voters but also creating division and apathy.
“They’re trying to divide us at another level,” Kaiser says, noting that the goal for many bad actors is to spread chaos, not just sway votes (PhillyVoice, 2024).
One major concern heading into the 2024 election is that 62% of Americans fear AI will be used to suppress voter turnout by spreading disinformation designed to confuse and demotivate voters.
This tactic could target certain demographics or political groups, undermining electoral trust (All About AI, 2024).
Misinformation can also have a financial incentive. As Kaiser notes, sensational, viral content is often rewarded by platforms that pay for views. This creates an environment where misleading or inflammatory AI-generated content can thrive, encouraging its spread for profit.
“They’re trying to make you apathetic, trying to make you angry,” says Kaiser, emphasizing how emotionally charged content can manipulate public opinion (PhillyVoice, 2024).
For more insights on how AI is shaping politics and fueling skepticism, visit Allaboutai.com.
Misinformation vs. Disinformation: Understanding the Difference
Misinformation and disinformation are often used interchangeably, but they have distinct meanings. AI Misinformation is false or inaccurate information spread unintentionally, often due to errors or misunderstandings.
On the other hand, AI disinformation is the deliberate creation and dissemination of false information to deceive or cause harm (American Psychological Association, 2024).
As Kelly M. Greenhill explains, our brains don’t process these forms of information differently, making it difficult to separate fact from fiction.
“If an idea or piece of information feels true to an individual when he hears it, he is less likely to interrogate or question its veracity” (Greenhill, 2024).
This is why both misinformation and disinformation can easily lead to the spread of conspiracy theories, AI-generated news, and false narratives.
Yvonne Eadon, a professor of information science, adds that both forms of information often play on strong emotions like fear and anxiety.
“A lot of mis- and disinformation activates emotions, especially fear and anxiety, in conjunction with mistrust of powerful entities,” Eadon explains (CBS News, 2024).
Misinformation about elections or vaccines often taps into these fears, making it more likely for people to believe and share without fact-checking.
The Role of AI in Spreading and Detecting Election Misinformation
Artificial intelligence plays a significant role in spreading misinformation in the 2024 election, especially through AI-generated news and deepfakes.
“In 2024, deepfakes that are powered by AI are going to supercharge misinformation,” Taylor said.
It makes it increasingly difficult for voters to distinguish between real and fake content (CBS News, 2024). This technology enables the rapid creation and distribution of AI disinformation, posing a serious threat to the integrity of elections.
Image courtesy of CBS News, reflecting the latest developments on the discussed topic.
For example, tools like Sora, an AI-driven video generator, can create lifelike deepfakes that look entirely authentic, spreading false political ads and misleading content across platforms like Facebook and X (Virginia Tech, 2024).
These deepfakes in politics can quickly distort public perception, impacting voters’ views of candidates and key issues.
To hear more insights from Miles Taylor on the role of AI in the election, check out this video on YouTube.
On the other hand, AI is also being used to detect election misinformation. AI-powered detection tools are being developed to identify patterns in fake content, helping to flag and remove false information before it spreads. However, these tools still need user collaboration to be fully effective (Virginia Tech, 2024).
How to Identify Misinformation and Disinformation Online
In the 2024 election, misinformation and disinformation are spreading faster than ever, but there are several strategies you can use to identify fake news and protect yourself.
Traditional Methods for Spotting Fake News
- Fact-Checking: Use reputable fact-checking websites like Snopes, FactCheck.org, and PolitiFact to verify claims. Cross-reference information from multiple credible sources before believing or sharing it.
- Cross-Referencing: Look for the same story across trusted news platforms. If only one obscure site reports it, that’s a red flag.
- Verify the Source: Always check the credibility of the website or author. Trusted news sources will often have a clear author and transparent editorial process, while fake sites may use anonymous or questionable authors.
AI Tools for Spotting Disinformation
AI-driven tools are also becoming increasingly effective in helping detect misinformation:
- Reverse Image Search: Use tools like Google’s reverse image search to check if an image has been altered or misused.
- AI Fact-Checking Tools: New AI tools like GPTZero and browser extensions can help identify AI-generated content or deepfakes by flagging inconsistencies.
A CBS News report highlights how AI is used in the 2024 election to generate and detect misinformation. AI in elections is trained to recognize patterns in fake news and deepfakes, helping voters spot disinformation before it spreads.
To learn more about AI’s role in identifying election misinformation, watch the full CBS News video here. By combining these traditional methods with modern AI tools, you can better direct the complex site of election misinformation.
How to Stop The Spread of AI Misinformation?
Here are some effective ways to prevent the spread of AI-generated misinformation during elections:
- Check Images and Videos: Use reverse image search or fact-checking websites to verify if an image or video has been altered or is misleading.
- Verify Election Information: Always double-check election-related messages through official state resources to avoid falling for false claims.
- Spot AI-Generated Content: Look for signs of AI manipulation, such as distorted details in images like extra fingers or odd backgrounds, common in deepfakes.
- Enable Two-Factor Authentication: Secure your social media and email accounts with two-factor authentication to reduce the risk of phishing or hacking.
- Question Suspicious Phone Calls: If a call uses someone’s voice but seems suspicious, ask personal questions to confirm the caller’s identity.
- Be More Cautious Near Election Day: Misinformation tends to spike closer to election day, so be extra vigilant during that time.
These simple steps can help stop the spread of AI-powered disinformation and ensure the integrity of elections.
The Future of AI in Election Misinformation: What to Expect
What role will AI play in future elections? As technology progresses, AI will be used more frequently to both spread and detect misinformation.
Deepfakes and AI-generated news could easily be created and shared, tricking voters with content that looks real but is entirely fake. As AI makes it simpler to produce misleading content, distinguishing between truth and lies becomes even more difficult.
Conversely, AI is also becoming a key tool in detecting misinformation. New systems can identify deepfakes in real-time and automatically fact-check content to stop misinformation before it spreads too far. These tools will ensure voters get accurate information, especially during election periods.
FAQs
What is misinformation or disinformation?
How to spot misinformation?
How to spot AI and disinformation in the 2024 election?
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Is misinformation used only in Presidential elections?
Conclusion
The future of AI election misinformation 2024 brings both challenges and solutions. While AI can make it easier to spread disinformation, it also offers powerful tools to detect and stop it.
Voters must stay cautious, rely on fact-checking resources, and think critically about what they see and share.
With these efforts, we can minimize the impact of AI-driven misinformation and help ensure the integrity of future elections.
