Electoral disinformation: how has it affected confidence in the system and how can civil society address it?

Since January 2022, Linterna Verde has been tracking the digital conversation on electoral fraud through multi-platform monitoring. The findings show that fraud has become one of the main protagonists of the campaigns. In this report we analyse which elements of the media and social media ecosystems have contributed to the current crisis in confidence of the Colombian electoral system. 

To do so, in addition to explaining how we arrived at this crisis and what gears oxygenated the conversation about electoral fraud, we decided to zoom in on two real cases of electoral disinformation that circulated on multiple platforms: one related to the alleged breach of the chain of custody of the votes of the legislative elections and the other related to the doubts about Indra, the company that provided the electoral software. Finally, we analyse the role that platforms have played in avoiding disinformation in the electoral context, and close with some recommendations for civil society organisations to help reduce uncertainty and the risks of yellow press and disinformation.

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This research was carried out with the support of NED.