Deepfake Democracy? AI Threatens 2025 Elections Worldwide

With dozens of elections in 2025, AI-driven misinformation threatens democratic integrity. A new global framework, backed by top researchers, offers urgent solutions to protect fair elections from deepfakes, fake news, and AI interference.

AI in the Ballot Box. Image Credit: Accogliente Design / Shutterstock

The year 2025 will be important for democracies worldwide. Several dozen countries are due to hold national elections in a world profoundly transformed by artificial intelligence (AI). Recent cases—notably in Romania, Brazil, Gabon, and the United States—illustrate the need for action to protect electoral integrity. The proliferation of fake news and the growing use of deepfakes—particularly are affecting public confidence and the quality of democratic debate.

To meet these challenges, academic experts from the North and the South have proposed actions to support our institutions and better guard against the adverse effects and risks generated by AI interference in elections and democratic processes.

This framework comprises four priority actions:

1. Modernizing regulatory frameworks with the adoption of clear rules framing the use of AI during elections.
2. Political parties should adopt codes of conduct for the use of AI.
3. Establishment of independent teams to monitor electoral integrity and prepare public response plans in the event of AI-fueled threats to elections.
4. Development of an International AI Electoral Trust keepers and international legal assistance protocols to respond to cases of AI-based electoral interference.

A major global initiative

These recommendations have been developed as part of the Global Policy Briefs on AI, a new joint endeavor of IVADO, Canada's leading AI research and knowledge mobilization consortium, and the University of Ottawa's AI + Society Initiative. This project aims to provide policymakers with public policy recommendations to address today's significant global AI challenges.

For the first brief in this series, 'AI in the Ballot Box: Four Actions to Safeguard Election Integrity and Uphold Democracy,' Prof. Catherine Régis (Université de Montréal and IVADO) and Prof. Florian Martin-Bariteau (University of Ottawa) brought together researchers from North America, South America, Africa, and Europe.

"This mobilization reflects how important it is to take action, but also represents a unique opportunity to help shape the future of our democracies. By pooling academic expertise on an international scale, we can develop solutions that will preserve the integrity of democratic processes," says Professor Catherine Régis, Director of Social Innovation and International Policy at IVADO.

"This mobilization reflects how important it is to take action, but also represents a unique opportunity to help shape the future of our democracies. By pooling academic expertise on an international scale, we can develop solutions that will preserve the integrity of democratic processes," says Professor Catherine Régis, Director of Social Innovation and International Policy at IVADO.

"With our democracies under threat, AI-driven interference requires swift and concrete actions from leaders – both at the national and international level. Without a concerted global effort to align laws, build capacity, and develop processes to mitigate AI risks, Canada – and democracies around the world – remain vulnerable," says Professor Florian Martin-Bariteau, Director of the AI + Society Initiative at the University of Ottawa.

Next steps

IVADO, the University of Ottawa AI + Society Initiative, and their partners will present the recommendations contained in this first brief at an event on the sidelines of the AI Action Summit on Monday, February 10, 2025, at the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne in Paris.

A further retreat is scheduled for the end of 2025 to produce a global policy brief on another major challenge raised by AI.

The project was supported by the Fonds de recherche du Québec, the CEIMIA, the Canada-CIFAR Chair in AI and Human Rights at Mila, and the University of Ottawa Research Chair in Technology and Society. The week-long retreat was organized with the help of the Délégation du Québec à Rome and the Società Italiana per l'Organizzazione Internazionale.The project was supported by the Fonds de recherche du Québec, the CEIMIA, the Canada-CIFAR Chair in AI and Human Rights at Mila, and the University of Ottawa Research Chair in Technology and Society. The week-long retreat was organized with the help of the Délégation du Québec à Rome and the Società Italiana per l'Organizzazione Internazionale.