Digital freedoms in peril as elections take place globally

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00:00The pursuit, promotion and exercise of digital freedom and entitlements have been on a gradual

00:06slide since the year 2010, a Freedom House report published yesterday claims.

00:12Of concern, the 41 countries evaluated in the report have either hosted or will hold

00:17elections this year, as VOA's Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports.

00:24From websites being blocked, to social media platforms being restricted and online activists

00:31incarcerated, internet freedoms around the world are in peril.

00:36That's according to the latest assessment of 72 countries conducted by the human rights

00:41group Freedom House.

00:43We looked specifically at 41 countries around the world that hosted some form of nationwide

00:50election.

00:51We saw that generative AI tools are increasingly being employed by parties and candidates to

00:58turn out appealing memes, mock political opponents and reach more diverse audiences.

01:05That can erode trust in democracy and mislead voters, he added.

01:09Earlier this year, deepfake videos of Indonesia's presidential hopefuls Anies Baswedan and Prabowo

01:16Subianto, who don't speak Arabic, showed them making remarks in that language, apparently

01:22to appeal to Muslim voters.

01:25Back then, fact-checker Santi Indra Astuti weighed in on the matter.

01:32Hoaxes are no longer just to discredit opponents, but some seem intended to glorify their chosen

01:36candidate.

01:38But Indonesia does not fare the worst in this year's Freedom House report.

01:43The ruling Chinese Communist Party has systematically repressed online dissent for about a decade.

01:50And this year is not alone as the world's worst environment for internet freedom, says

01:56researcher Vestenson.

01:58The Myanmar military has sought to build a mass censorship and surveillance regime, again

02:04in part aimed at suppressing the online activities of the country's opposition.

02:09Not everything is bad news.

02:11Zambia's civil society, for instance, has succeeded in pushing back on digital restrictions.

02:17And Chile showcases incredibly strong safeguards for human rights online, the report says.

02:24Ahead of its own presidential election, the internet in the United States remains, quote,

02:30vibrant, diverse and free, says Vestenson.

02:34But he warns that misleading information spread by both domestic and foreign actors

02:40has proliferated online.

02:43Actors who may be connected to the state in Russia and China, and we've even seen that

02:49Iranian state actors have targeted the campaigns of people who are running for president.

02:54By bringing attention to the state of digital freedoms around the world, researchers hope

03:00policy makers and the private sector develop ways to resist the decline and enshrine the

03:06people's right to access a free internet, particularly during election years.

03:12Veronica Valderas Iglesias, VOA News.

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