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Graphic shows online election interference in the past year.
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POLITICS

Growing use of social media for electoral manipulation

By Mike Tyler

November 6, 2019 - Online disinformation, propaganda and censorship were used to influence 26 of 30 national elections studied over the past year, according to a report by an internet watchdog.

Freedom House, which is partly funded by the U.S. government, said that governments around the world were “exploiting both human nature and computer algorithms to conquer the ballot box”.

Disinformation was the most commonly used tactic, the report said. Authorities in some countries blocked websites or cut off access to the internet in a desperate bid to cling to power.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 06/11/2019; STORY: Graphic News
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