Navigating the limits: electoral management bodies and the struggle against disinformation and foreign interference
The problem of disinformation and foreign interference in elections has increased significantly in recent years. It creates an uneven playing field that hinders fair competition and informed voting. Electoral disinformation manifests itself in two ways: partisan and procedural. Partisan...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | German |
| Published: |
Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, Belgrade
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Filozofija i Društvo |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0353-5738/2025/0353-57382502387P.pdf |
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| Summary: | The problem of disinformation and foreign interference in elections has
increased significantly in recent years. It creates an uneven playing field
that hinders fair competition and informed voting. Electoral disinformation
manifests itself in two ways: partisan and procedural. Partisan
disinformation targets candidates and voters with false information to
influence their voting preferences. In contrast, procedural disinformation
seeks to disenfranchise voters or undermine the electoral process. Foreign
interference in elections can be defined as any attempt to influence the
outcome of an election in another country. Have Electoral Management Bodies
(EMBs) implemented effective countermeasures to mitigate these risks? The
answer is complex, but no. They face institutional, legal and technical
constraints that limit their actions. First, EMBs cannot change electoral
laws to make them more resilient against the threat of disinformation and
foreign electoral interference. Second, disinformation is usually not
criminal and falls outside most legislation, making prosecution difficult.
Foreign interference falls beyond national jurisdiction. Third, the actions
that EMBs can take are limited by their obligations to be fair and
impartial. Fourth, while enhancing content curation on social media
platforms would be beneficial, EMBs lack the authority to enforce such
measures, and these platforms exercise limited control over the content that
is published. |
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| ISSN: | 0353-5738 2334-8577 |