Researchers from the SmartVote project, in which Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) participates, have carried out a study that analyses the impact of digital disinformation in electoral processes in both Spain and Portugal. The report reveals a growing social concern about information manipulation, but also shows the high degree of scepticism among Generation Z (those aged between 18 and 24) towards traditional sources of information and new tools based on artificial intelligence (AI).
The SmartVote project involves more than twenty Spanish and Portuguese researchers from six different organizations, who are designing a tool to identify fake news (by recognizing image and video manipulation), the dissemination of misleading polls, decontextualization and hoaxes. “The narrative most commonly used to spread disinformation is that of electoral fraud,” explains one of the authors of the study, Carolina Fernández Castrillo, from UC3M’s Communications Department. “And the amplification of disinformation by political parties is a key factor in its propagation and perceived credibility.”
According to the report, far-right parties, such as Vox in Spain or Chega in Portugal, are the main sources of false content on social networks. “There is a certain Iberian homogeneity in terms of disinformation, with these political parties adopting similar structures and narratives,” says the report's coordinator, Miguel Paisana, a researcher at Portugal's Observatório da Comunicação (OberCom).
The report is the first published by the SmartVote project, in which in addition to UC3M and OberCom, the Centro Protocolar de Formação Profissional para Jornalistas (CENJOR), the Club Abierto de Editores (CLABE) and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) also participate. This Iberian consortium is led by the Fundación Cibervoluntarios.
The fact that the project covers the entire Iberian Peninsula adds an additional level of complexity in terms of participation and intervention, according to the authors of the report. “Spain faces greater political polarization and a stronger institutional response to disinformation, whereas Portugal is less polarized but increasingly exposed to political instability and digital disinformation, with softer regulatory approaches. In recent years, early elections have become more common in both countries, leading to shorter government cycles and greater political instability,” says Miguel Paisana.
Print media playing an increasingly minor role
One finding of the study is that Spaniards use social networks more than television news to find out about electoral issues, whereas in Portugal, it is the other way around. In both cases, however, print media lags behind. Trust in news organizations, meanwhile, is significantly higher in Portugal (56%) than in Spain (33%), with the latter figure being even lower among young Spaniards (19%). There is also a gender difference, with young women showing a greater reluctance to seek information about electoral issues through AI-generated news.
To tackle disinformation, the report highlights the need to improve media literacy, not only among young people but across all generations. “Disinformation directly affects democratic quality and influences voting intentions. We have already seen this in processes such as Brexit. If we want to combat this problem, we must consider educational strategies aimed at students, journalists and the general public. It is not just a matter of identifying hoaxes, but of understanding how elections work and why it is essential to be informed in a critical and responsible way,” comments another of the report's authors from UC3M’s Communications Department, Raúl Magallón Rosa.
The report includes an analysis of 125 initiatives against disinformation, 52 of which use AI or machine learning. European projects such as AI4Trust and AI-CODE combine these technologies with human verification processes, with the aim of improving the quality of information and supporting media professionals in their work. “While AI has potential as regards automating content detection, its use raises ethical concerns about transparency, freedom of expression and privacy,” the report notes.
The SmartVote project aims to combat disinformation in three ways: firstly, through media literacy; secondly, through various educational activities aimed at journalists, journalism students and young people interested in disinformation and electoral processes; and thirdly, by designing a tool to identify disinformation on the Internet.
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