LLMHigh
Social Media Algorithms Amplified Disinformation Campaign in Honduras Election
- Occurred
- Oct 6, 2021
- Published
- Nov 15, 2021
- Source
- AI Incident Database
Summary
In October 2021, a coordinated network of over 317 fake Twitter accounts leveraged AI-driven algorithms to amplify disinformation about the Honduran presidential election, targeting opposition candidate Xiomara Castro. The campaign spread false narratives to suppress voter turnout and undermine the election's integrity. Social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, removed the accounts only after being alerted, which also raised concerns about inadequate moderation.
Developers
- X (Twitter)
- Meta
Deployers
- National Party of Honduras supporters
- Juan Orlando Hernández supporters
- Unknown Twitter users
- Unknown Facebook users
Harmed parties
- Xiomara Castro
- Libertad y Refundación (LIBRE) supporters
- Honduran electorate
- Honduras
- Democratic integrity
Classification
Category confidence: 70%
Severity confidence: 80%
Rationale: AI algorithms amplified disinformation affecting election integrity, causing significant harm to democratic process.
Classifier: Qwen/Qwen3.5-35B-A3B-FP8