Vote manipulation: AI’s power and media credibility

 UN Global Digital Compact emphasizes “the need to address technology-amplified issues while protecting privacy and freedom of expression. AI is transforming the fundamental right to seek, impart, and receive information, as well as the journalist profession.

It enhances access to information and processing of it, enabling journalists to handle and process vast amounts of data efficiently and create content more effectively. AI tools can improve fact-checking, data visualization, local and multilingual adaptation of news content and its translation”. 

Highly reputed advocate Prashant Bhushan says, “A lot of people believe that vote manipulation paved the way for NDA’s landslide win in Bihar. While there was vote manipulation, it would not account for a major percentage. Has the voter turned fearless?

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI, the strong technical safeguards in EVMs and elaborate administrative safeguards, procedures, and security that are in place ensure that the elections are transparent, free, and fair. So how does one remove this strong suspicion?

This entire electoral process is completely questionable, alleges the Congress party. “The Bihar result is unbelievable for us; no political party in India’s history has managed a 90 per cent strike rate. The 2025 Bihar election results, where the Congress managed a bare 10 per cent strike rate, while winning six of the 61 seats it contested, is its second-worst performance since 2010, when it had won only four seats”, states a media report. The ‘National Press Day’ that is celebrated on November 16 serves as a reminder to the media professionals about the need to uphold high standards of journalism, free from external influences.

But are our journalists fearless in their speech, expression and content?

The ‘World Press Freedom Day’ (May 3), which was established by the UN to commemorate the 1991 Windhoek Declaration, calls for a free, independent, and pluralistic press and highlights the need to protect fundamental freedom.

Similarly, on January 29, acknowledged as Indian Newspaper Day, speaks of the importance of newspapers and their power. Can India rejoice this facet in the current democracy that it is in?

Now, the ultimate challenge for India is to utilise the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in making democracy and access to information more possible. At the same time, we must build a strong, transparent, and rights-based system that reduces the risks of censorship, manipulation, and financial decay of the independent media. These principles of a free press need to be enthusiastically maintained in this era of counterfeit material. The statement that ‘truth alone triumphs’ is known as Satyameva Jayati, is now critically challenged.

The Deepfakes Analysis Unit (DAU) investigated a widely circulated video featuring Rahul Gandhi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman allegedly endorsing a government-backed financial platform purportedly associated with Elon Musk and “Quantum AI”. Upon thorough analysis, the DAU concluded that the video is fabricated and constitutes a deliberate misuse of artificial intelligence to mislead the public. 

AI-generated prompt

The recent blunder by Pakistan’s leading English daily, Dawn, where an AI-generated prompt was accidentally published in a print story, serves as a stark, global illustration of the new ethical risks. The inclusion of the line, “If you want, I can also create an even snappier ‘front-page style’ version...”, revealed a human editorial oversight; the “negligence copy-paste syndrome” that exposed the paper’s undisclosed use of AI tools.

This incident underscores the immediate necessity for media organisations to establish and enforce strict, transparent AI ethics and policies to protect their credibility.

Where even educated people purchase and sell the votes, it is a competition among two AI-generated ‘products. The rise of generative Artificial Intelligence has placed the Indian media at the crossroads and a technological rift.

With Article 19(1)(a), is digital freedom of the press under threat?

Indian newsrooms use machine learning for social media monitoring and large-scale data analysis. We should use it for positive gains in combating misinformation-AI-powered tools like Google’s Fact Check Explorer. Another example of positive gain is that AI-driven video and text summarisation tools enable journalists to deliver content more efficiently across digital and social media platforms, addressing India’s growing demand for vernacular and mobile-first news, according to Dr Nivash Jeevanandam.

The UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression highlighted: “AI offers the potential to enhance freedom of expression by democratizing access to information, empowering global communication, and changing the reality of the flow of information around the world. It also introduces new risks. “

UN Global Digital Compact emphasizes “the need to address technology-amplified issues while protecting privacy and freedom of expression. AI is transforming the fundamental right to seek, impart, and receive information, as well as the journalist profession. It enhances access to information and processing of it, enabling journalists to handle and process vast amounts of data efficiently and create content more effectively. AI tools can improve fact-checking, data visualization, local and multilingual adaptation of news content and its translation, streamlining the journalistic process and making information more engaging and accessible”.

New challenges:

Now we are caught in a new journalism challenge. The proliferation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is radically changing journalism and creating threatening challenges. It is raising doubts over the possible effect of AI on everyone’s integrity, the editorial content, and employment security in the industry. The authenticity is questionable. Is it possible to safeguard the basic tenets of a free, autonomous, and plural media, which are still crucial? The influence of AI on the creation, consumption, and regulation of information is immense.

AI’s immediate threat: Electoral manipulation:

The closest and far-reaching effect of AI has been the election manipulation, most recently expressed in the Bihar Assembly Elections in 2025.

♦ The Deep Fakes and partisan warfare: AI-generated reels, avatars, and fake audio clips of political figures experienced a rise in the polls. This was not mere propaganda, but highly contentious deep fake cases, like the so-called AI video of PM Modi and his mother that was supposed to create outrage and denunciate those against it.

♦ ECI’s proactive response: The ECI had to take an actionist approach by issuing an advisory that obliged all political parties to implement prominent and clear labelling of all synthetic content. This action underscores the increasing need to have regulatory authorities intervene even when disinformation that is created by AI directly jeopardizes the sanctity of democracy.

♦ Regulation and digital dilemma: The first line of response to reduce harm by the government is the proposed laws to have mandatory labelling and the creation of non-removable identifiers or metadata on all AI-generated content, including text, images, and videos.

Concerns regarding freedom of speech:

AI brings new risks. It can be used to disseminate fake or disinformation, promote more hate speech online, and reinforce emerging forms of censorship. Some actors use AI for mass surveillance of journalists and citizens, creating a chilling effect on freedom of expression. However, critics argue that giving the government and powerful platforms the authority to mandate labelling and enforce takedown powers can increase state power and pose a chilling effect on free expression.

Threat to democracy:

Prashant Bhushan’s apprehension is real-This result shows that it becomes virtually impossible to defeat a combination of money and control of EC and the media, especially if you can use public funds to bribe voters. It is very worrying for our electoral democracy”. He added: This landslide can only be explained by the Rs 10,000 bribe from public funds given to >1.5 crore on poll eve. This should have been prevented by ECI as they did earlier in Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan. They influence public perception, fake and misinformation. This is a ruling, not a rule of law. However, a strong suspicion cannot replace the truth.

(The writer is Professor, School of Law, Mahindra University, Hyderabad)