Public Policy

Maldita.es analyses online disinformation during the 23-J election campaign together with Reset, as well as the response of major digital platforms

Fundación Maldita.es and the organisation Reset are working together on a project to analyse online disinformation during the campaign for the 23 July general elections and to examine whether digital platforms respond to it in line with their terms of service and the standards of the new European Digital Services Act (DSA).

July 14, 2023
Maldita.es analyses online disinformation during the 23-J election campaign together with Reset, as well as the response of major digital platforms

The idea is to monitor public messages on different platforms that contain election-related disinformation which has already been debunked by Maldita.es in accordance with our methodology. We will then analyse what actions, if any, different platforms such as Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube have taken in response.

Over the course of this campaign, we have already debunked numerous hoaxes affecting candidates from one politcal side and another, as well as claims that baselessly attack the integrity of the electoral process. We believe that a systematic analysis of how these hoaxes spread across platforms can be very useful in making future anti-disinformation measures more effective.

We are collaborating with Reset on the monitoring work, while also contributing our experience in analysis and in drawing conclusions. We believe that the proper implementation of the new European Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Code of Practice on Disinformation requires studies like this, which make it possible to assess the real impact of disinformation on major digital platforms, especially at particularly sensitive moments such as elections.

As a member of the permanent Task Force of the Code of Practice on Disinformation, Maldita.es believes it is essential to support research that analyses online disinformation in a structural way, in order to improve society’s response to organised manipulation. We hope to share more about the conclusions of this study in the coming months.

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