India’s election season is witnessing a surge in social media misinformation, presenting a significant challenge for voters and authorities. Notable incidents include AI-generated videos featuring Bollywood stars allegedly endorsing political parties. Actors Aamir Khan and Ranveer Singh were falsely depicted criticizing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and endorsing the Congress party, leading them to file complaints with the police. Despite these actions, misinformation continues to spread unabated.
False claims circulating online include misinformation about the voting process, unfounded allegations of election rigging, and calls for violence against India’s Muslim population. This proliferation of misinformation has raised concerns among researchers, highlighting tech companies’ ineffective enforcement of their policies. The spread of harmful content online could distort public opinion, incite violence, and leave voters uncertain about the authenticity of information.
India’s election, with nearly 1 billion eligible voters, is one of the world’s largest and most complex electoral processes. The country’s linguistic and cultural diversity, along with its massive online population, pose unique challenges for tech companies in combatting misinformation. Despite promises from companies like Google and Meta to address deceptive content, researchers argue that their efforts have been inadequate, failing to account for India’s diverse landscape.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, has faced scrutiny for allowing political advertisements and posts containing hate speech and misinformation. These ads were viewed over 65 million times in a 90-day period and cost more than $1 million. Meta has defended its actions, stating that it has expanded its fact-checking efforts and has employees worldwide ready to address misuse of its platforms.
YouTube, another platform plagued by disinformation, has been criticized for its handling of false information in ads. Researchers found that YouTube approved ads containing false voting information or calls for violence, indicating a gap in enforcing its own rules.
The rise of AI deepfakes adds a new dimension to the misinformation challenge. Advances in AI make it easier to create lifelike images, videos, or audio, with deepfakes becoming increasingly prevalent in political campaigns worldwide. There is growing demand for deepfakes, including those featuring deceased politicians, raising concerns about their potential to deceive voters.
Despite efforts by India’s Information and Technology Ministry to combat deepfakes and misinformation, the lack of clear regulation on AI and deepfakes makes it difficult to address the issue effectively. This leaves voters like Ankita Jasra, an 18-year-old first-time voter, grappling with uncertainties about the information they encounter online and its implications for their trust in the country’s governance.
The surge of misinformation on social media during India’s elections underscores the need for more robust measures to combat false information. As tech companies and governments grapple with these challenges, educating the public about the risks of AI and deepfakes is crucial to preserving the integrity of democratic processes.
