Disinformation on Elections: Tools to Navigate the Social Media Landscape
On Tuesday 6th February we successfully delivered our workshop ‘Disinformation on Elections: tools to navigate the social media landscape’. We are pleased to have been hosted at the first series of Activist Lab at Justice and Peace in the Hague. The Activist Lab initiative supports young change-makers in the Netherlands in their activism practices, knowledge exchange, and campaign skills. Our session was designed with a dual purpose. 25 participants got acquainted with the disinformation landscape concerning elections and human rights as well as learned practical tools that helped them to navigate the online environment effectively and critically. In the face of what has been defined as the ‘biggest election year in history’, research is warning us that the year 2024 can be negatively impacted by online disinformation on social media platforms. This insightful session gathered engaging conversations, valuable perspectives from the participants as well as proposed practical solutions to tackle the challenges of disinformation to foster a more secure and positive digital space for everyone.
Session: Tuesday, 6th February, 11.00-12.00, Disinformation on Elections: tools to navigate the social media landscape.
Number of participants: 25
Speaker: Laura Bucher, Dare to be Grey
Notes from the conversation:
Discussions revolved around the importance of combating disinformation in the context of elections and the harmful consequences of mobilising voter sentiment. Mis and disinformation was deemed to fuel polarisation and division within society, posing a threat to democracy and dissuading voter participation.
The main disinformation narratives surrounding the 2023 elections were highlighted, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, climate change, and migration. These subjects are expected to significantly influence the upcoming electoral landscape and may be exploited to evoke emotional responses and hinder constructive, public discourse with nuanced arguments.
The discussion also focused on an in-depth explanation of media literacy (ML), digital literacy (DL), and critical thinking (CT) techniques and their application to real-life examples, enabling them to navigate the digital landscape with a critical approach, particularly within the context of elections. For example, some rules to react to emotion-provoking questions were explained, together with guidance on how to evaluate the accuracy of claims in the media.
During the workshop, several case studies were presented to concretely show disinformation examples and applied strategies. The first one centred on migration-related topics before the Spanish elections. The case study shed light on a prevalent narrative depicting migrants as burdensome parasites and profiteers, purportedly draining public funds and enjoying preferential treatment over Spanish citizens. Particularly alarming was the spread of false information alleging that "African immigrants in an illegal situation" in Spain were receiving a monthly stipend of 2,000 euros from the government. However, a thorough investigation revealed this claim to be unequivocally false, underscoring the insidious nature of disinformation campaigns aimed at stigmatising migrant communities. This example underscored the importance of media literacy, digital literacy, and critical thinking in combating the propagation of harmful stereotypes and false narratives surrounding migration.
The conversation also revolved around the challenges posed by the limited amount of accessible tools that detect AI-generated content. This is particularly important when artificially produced content is used to influence the outcome of elections. Participants explored the role of AI in propagating false information as well as in limiting our ability to have access to reliable information. The vast accessibility of these AI tools, such as chatbots, and the harmful consequences of the spread of disinformation were acknowledged. A specific case study involving a politician running for the upcoming Slovakian elections was analysed. Despite the evident technical flaws of the deepfake, clearly discernible as not being authentic human speech, its dissemination occurred rapidly through various channels. This example demonstrates how a seemingly easy-to-recognise AI-generated content can generate harmful consequences in the political context. In addition, participants draw attention to the complexities of recognising and debunking AI-generated texts over audio or videos, attributing this to the ease with which compelling false stories can be generated within minutes.
A third example was presented to showcase online disinformation campaigns about the Israel-Palestine war and its real-life harmful consequences. Pro-Israel accounts have been observed utilizing terms such as 'crisis actors' and ‘Pallywood’, aimed at discrediting Palestinian suffering. This narrative downplays the severity of the situation, ultimately perpetuating a skewed understanding of the war and hugely influencing the political debate.
The session culminated in hands-on practice with real-life case studies. Each group was tasked with conducting a rigorous fact-checking process to analyse the claims made on different social media posts. Through collaborative analysis and critical examination, participants evaluated the credibility of the information presented, distinguishing between reliable and unreliable content. The group meticulously analysed the language of the presented social media posts, recognised emotion-provoking content, evaluated the credibility of the authors, and posed critical questions to verify the authenticity of social media posts.
In summary, the conversation was centred on the need for practical and easy-to-use tools to empower youngsters to navigate the increasingly polarised social media landscape, especially in the context of elections. We hope to have offered insights and enhanced critical thinking, media literacy and digital literacy tools that support young change-makers in their activist practices.
