Social media has become an online war zone for disinformation and fake news, often amplified by far-right parties worldwide.

Last year, there was a notable rise in far-right, nationalist, populist parties securing seats in the European Parliament. For example, in France, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) party won the popular vote with over 31% of the vote. In Germany, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party came second with 15.6%. 

In the recent general election, AfD did even better, winning 20.8% and doing particularly well in what was former East Germany.

Simultaneously, there has been a worldwide shift towards more right-wing and conservative parties – for example, Donald Trump and the Republicans won the US election last November. 

There can be many explanations for this political shift, though it is certain that the spread of disinformation and fake news online has had an influence on election outcomes.

“We see a lot of far-right movement content, and it seems that they have been more effective in using social media and the internet to promote their own agenda.” Andrzej Kozłowski, head of the narrative trend analysis and fact-checking team at Poland’s national research institute (NASK), told Harbingers’ Magazine.

According to a NASK report, disinformation was spread online in an attempt to influence 2024 election results or undermine trust in democratic institutions and political parties in Mexico, Senegal, South Africa, Taiwan and the US. The US sanctioned Iran and Russia for attempting to interfere in the latest elections. 

However, it is not only foreign interference that remains a cause for concern; but domestic as well.

The NASK report gave examples of pre-US election tweets by X owner Elon Musk that were meant to “instil fear that a potential loss in the presidential campaign will inevitably result in the end of American democracy.” This is a technique of disinformation called fear-mongering, where the goal is to use fear as a weapon against voters to influence the outcome. 

In January, Mark Zuckerberg announced that his company Meta, the owner of Facebook and other social media apps, will end its use of fact-checking organisations and instead introduce community notes, similar to Musk’s policy on X. Kozłowski anticipates that the decision to remove fact-checkers in the US will eventually reach the EU and other countries.

Zuckerberg’s move was not necessarily a political decision, but it was a good choice economically. The Meta business model is based on the number of views a post receives. Kozłowski explains that “fake news generates higher profits, as they have a lot of views. Unfortunately, it’s profitable from the business perspective.”

However, Kozłowski stresses that there are other “more important factors” behind the rise of far-right parties worldwide than simply social media and the internet, such as domestic issues in each country.

Disinformation campaigns are all around us

Even though the issue of disinformation influencing politics has been around for a while, the first time it gained international attention was the 2016 US presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Russia’s interference was undeniable, as described in the report from special counsel Robert Mueller.

According to Kozłowski, the success of Russian disinformation in 2016 comes from the surprise factor: “No one was prepared for it.” As a result, no one knew how to react and combat this issue. 

AI and deepfakes are the new girl in town

The impact of social media on disinformation has changed over time. Now, with the increasing use of AI, it has become easier to trick people into believing untrue rhetoric. Kozłowski believes that “by using AI, creating disinformation is cheaper, as you do not need very sophisticated abilities and a large budget to do it.”

The rise of anti-vaxxers

Disinformation campaigns do not only target politics, they can target things that affect our daily lives, such as healthcare. A striking example of this was the wave of misinformation surrounding Covid-19 vaccines. 

Anti-vaccine narratives were fuelled by misrepresented scientific data, and influencers who capitalised on public fear and distrust. Some conspiracy theories falsely linked vaccines to government control, microchips, or population reduction, despite overwhelming scientific evidence proving their safety and effectiveness. 

The anti-vax message was often spread by “natural health” influencers on social media, many of whom deny medicine as a whole let alone the existence of Covid-19. These claims were not only misleading but also dangerous, leading to vaccine hesitancy and, in some cases, preventable deaths. 

Kozłowski calls anti-vax disinformation one of the “main trends”, adding “but of course, there are much more of them.”

Navigating the internet safely

From AI videos to disinformation campaigns, navigating the internet has become an increasingly difficult task. With social media platforms prioritising engagement over accuracy, false narratives can spread faster than ever.

Kozłowski believes we should all “start treating social media and the internet as a rather hostile environment, not as one where you can trust users”. He stresses that we need to approach what we see on the internet less emotionally and with increased critical thinking.

Disinformation spreads so fast on social media because it “breeds from our emotions”. Things that shock, anger or scare us are more likely to be shared without a second thought. This emotional reaction is exactly what bad actors exploit to push false narratives and manipulate public opinion. Algorithms further amplify this by prioritising content that keeps users engaged. 

The second piece of advice Kozłowski gives is to “find out alternative sources of information other than social media. I think this is the simplest advice.”