AI is reshaping high-stakes elections around the world

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Cite

Ruberry, B. (2026, October 22). AI is reshaping high-stakes elections around the world. Semafor. https://www.semafor.com/article/10/22/2026/ai-is-reshaping-high-stakes-elections-around-the-world

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Semafor · collected 2026-10-22 · by Brendan Ruberry

Quick Summary

Partisan groups are using artificial intelligence to spread misleading information in key elections in Brazil, Israel, and the United States. Cybersecurity companies have detected thousands of fake websites designed to appear as legitimate local news outlets but actually target AI systems rather than voters directly. While efforts to combat deepfakes exist in Brazil and Israel, experts caution that chatbots pose a significant risk by influencing voter opinions and potentially suppressing turnout. An expert emphasized the need for resilience against AI threats rather than seeking a definitive solution.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-22, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

AI is significantly influencing high-stake elections globally, with Brazil and Israel trying to regulate deepfake content that affects these races. However, experts caution that voters are more susceptible to chatbots designed to sway opinions and suppress voter turnout. According to The Times of Israel, cybersecurity firms have detected thousands of AI-generated websites posing as local US news sites but aimed at misleading information systems rather than directly informing voters. An expert advised focusing on building resilience against AI threats rather than seeking a definitive solution to AI safety.

Written for “AI In Elections Worldwide” on 2026-10-23, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Reading Leans left (beta estimate) Confidence high
Leaning: leans left for article 100441 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-22

Story

📰 AI In Elections Worldwide
Technology · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Spooked by Bolsonaro, Brazil’s left takes to social media and the streets pushing for Lula win different event · 95%
Toronto Star
⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this 🔴 13% hedged 4 of 31 📰 publisher trust 64
“Article A focuses on the political mobilization of Brazil's left after Flávio Bolsonaro's strong performance in the election, while Article B discusses broader AI interference in elections globally, including but not limited to specific instances in Brazil.”
AI is advancing rapidly. Who's keeping it in check? different event · 90%
CBS News
⚖️ Centre further right than this 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 2 📰 publisher trust 66
“The articles discuss different aspects of AI and its impacts, one focusing on managing risks and plans by tech leaders, while the other discusses AI's role in shaping elections through misinformation.”
Deepfakes, bots and distrust: How AI is shaping Israel's election different event · 20%
Deutsche Welle
⚖️ Leans right further right than this 🔴 8% hedged 5 of 59 📰 publisher trust 95
“Article A focuses on a specific deepfake video involving Israeli election candidates, while Article B discusses AI's broader impact on elections in multiple countries including Israel.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
4
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 4 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
60/100
Semafor's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Technology
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-22 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Semafor · 1189 article(s) · 1 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 1 correction(s)
2026-10-16
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Who wrote this

Brendan Ruberry
124 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 124 articles by Brendan Ruberry →

Topics

Brazil Israel The Times of Israel Transformer

Subjects

Brazil GPE · 2× Israel GPE · 2× The Times of Israel ORG · 1× Transformer ORG · 1×

Narrative

While Brazil and Israel are attempting to police the deluge of deepfakes that are impacting high-stakes races, experts warn that voters are more vulnerable to chatbots that can “sway opinions [and] suppress turnout,” The Times of Israel reported.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-22
2026-10-22 · Semafor
AI is reshaping high-stakes elections around the world · assertive framing

Claims (4 extracted, 0 hedged)

Partisan actors are gaming AI platforms to regurgitate misleading information ahead of critical elections in Brazil, Israel, and the US. asserted
actors → game → Brazil
Cybersecurity firms identified thousands of AI-generated websites purporting to be local US news sites, but “the sites are not written for voters,” one firm noted: “They are written for the AI systems voters ask.” asserted
voters → identify → systems
While Brazil and Israel are attempting to police the deluge of deepfakes that are impacting high-stakes races, experts warn that voters are more vulnerable to chatbots that can “sway opinions [and] suppress turnout,” The Times of Israel reported. asserted
Times → attempt → Israel
“We should stop thinking of AI safety as a finish line,” an expert told Transformer. asserted
expert → stop → Transformer
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