Deepfakecracia: Electoral Deepfakes as Disinformation Tools in the 2023–2024 Presidential Elections

Abstract

Deepfakes have become a tool for disinformation during election periods, using the image of candidates in fake videos, images and audios generated by artificial intelligence. This contributes to undermining citizens’ access to information and reinforcing the sense of uncertainty in the information environment, eroding trust in democratic processes. The objective of this thesis is to analyse the functioning of deepfakes as a disinformation tool in election contexts based on the use of deepfakes in presidential elections in ten American countries in the period 2023–2024.