India’s six-week-long election was staggering not only for its size and operational complexity, but also for the “unprecedented” level of online disinformation.
The largest democratic process in history brought with it a flood of false social media posts and instant messages, ranging from manipulated videos to unrelated images with false captions.
Raqib Hameed Naik of the US-based India Hate Lab said he had seen “unprecedented levels of misinformation spread” in the elections.
“Conspiracy theories were promoted vigorously to deepen communal divides,” said Naik, whose organisation researches hate speech and misinformation.
During the seven-phase voting spanning six weeks, AFP fact-checkers uncovered 40 election-related revelations across India's political divide.