The Role of Generative AI Use in 2024 Elections Worldwide

The IPIE analyzed GenAI usage across 50 countries with competitive national elections in 2024. Findings show that GenAI was reported in 80% of these countries, primarily for content creation (90% of cases). While 69% of instances served malicious ends, 16% were benevolent. The study highlights a significant challenge in actor identification, with 46% of cases remaining unclear, and notes that foreign actors were involved in 20% of reported incidents, all for nefarious purposes.

• GenAI was utilized in national elections in 80% of the 50 competitive countries tracked in the IPIE database. The countries with the highest number of recorded instances were India and the USA, with 30 occurrences each.
• Content creation—including audio, images, videos, and text—was the dominant application of GenAI, accounting for 90% of all recorded usage in 2024 elections worldwide.
• The majority of GenAI applications in elections were malicious, with 69% serving apparently nefarious ends, while 16% were used for benevolent purposes.
• Identifying the actors behind GenAI usage is difficult; in 46% of the recorded incidents, the identity of the actor remained unclear.
• Foreign actors were involved in 20% of reported incidents, and all such instances of foreign interference were conducted for nefarious purposes.
• Hypertargeting—the use of GenAI to direct specific content to particular demographics to tilt political preferences—was the least common application, appearing in only 4% of recorded instances.
• Political parties and candidates were responsible for 25% of the recorded GenAI usage, with 38% of their applications deemed benevolent.
• The 'liar's dividend' is a significant risk, where the prevalence of deepfakes allows politicians to dismiss authentic content as being AI-generated.
• In Romania, a sophisticated and coordinated GenAI campaign was perceived to have significantly influenced the national election, contributing to the annulment of the presidential results.

APA

Trauthig, I., Valenzuela, S., & Howard, P. (2025). The Role of Generative AI Use in 2024 Elections Worldwide. International Panel on the Information Environment. https://www.ipie.info/research/tp2025-2

Chicago

Trauthig, Inga, Sebastián Valenzuela, and Philip Howard. The Role of Generative AI Use in 2024 Elections Worldwide. International Panel on the Information Environment, 2025. https://www.ipie.info/research/tp2025-2.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Trauthig |first1=Inga |last2=Valenzuela |first2=Sebastián |last3=Howard |first3=Philip |title=The Role of Generative AI Use in 2024 Elections Worldwide |publisher=International Panel on the Information Environment |date=2025 |url=https://www.ipie.info/research/tp2025-2 |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{trauthig2025role, author = {Trauthig, Inga and Valenzuela, Sebastián and Howard, Philip}, title = {{The Role of Generative AI Use in 2024 Elections Worldwide}}, institution = {International Panel on the Information Environment}, year = {2025}, url = {https://www.ipie.info/research/tp2025-2}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }