Decoding Falsehoods of Online Information During Elections
Photo courtesy of CPPP
The 2024 presidential election marked the first major electoral event following the aragalaya and the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The election highlighted the country’s shifting political landscape, moving away from traditional party politics toward a potentially more open and dynamic political culture. In this evolving context, the flow of information to voters has become a crucial factor in shaping electoral outcomes. The role of online platforms in this election was particularly prominent as a growing number of voters increasingly turned to digital sources for information. Internet penetration, which stood at just 34 percent of the population in 2019 had risen to 56.3 percent by 2024. It was evident that political parties, candidates and their supporters are leveraging online spaces, especially social media, more actively than ever before to campaign and engage with the voters.
The online campaigns during the presidential election were three pronged. The first and most straightforward was direct campaigning. This involved candidates, political parties and their supporters actively using their social media profiles such as Facebook pages, TikTok accounts, YouTube channels, and WhatsApp groups to engage voters. It also included paid content where campaigns used tools such as Google and Meta ads to promote their messages to targeted audiences.
The second type of campaign strategy involved the use of third party pages, profiles and channels, which appeared more independent but were often aligned with a specific candidate or political narrative. These platforms included political influencers, celebrities and popular meme or gossip pages. While these accounts often seemed neutral or personal, some were likely part of coordinated paid campaigns designed to sway public opinion in favour of a particular candidate.
The third type of online campaigning was negative campaigning, primarily carried out on third party platforms not directly linked to any candidate or party. This strategy targeted opposing candidates, using these independent spaces to attack their policies, personal lives or other vulnerabilities. These negative messages, often in the form of sensational posts or viral content, aimed to undermine the credibility of opponents while staying outside the formal purview of the campaigns themselves. A major part of these negative campaigns were the falsehoods of the elections.
Disinformation and misleading narratives played a prominent role in the presidential election campaign, marking a shift away from the ethno-nationalist rhetoric that dominated the 2019 and 2020 electoral cycles. Rather than focusing primarily on ethnic or religious divisions, the 2024 campaign saw the rise of misleading information designed to manipulate voter perceptions and sway public opinion through false or distorted claims. This shift reflected an evolving strategy in the use of online platforms to influence the election with disinformation becoming a key tool in shaping the political discourse. This trend has continued into the parliamentary election to a greater extent as well.
One of the key strategies used to mislead voters is the sharing of fake documents that appear to be official communications from a political party or candidate. These include fraudulent letters on party letterheads falsely claiming that candidates have withdrawn from the race, fabricated health reports about candidates and deceptive statements regarding party appointments and policies. There have been instances where portions of statements from prominent political actors such as Sunil Handunnetti and Tharindu Uduvaragedara were deliberately edited and widely shared on social media to distort the truth and mislead the electorate. While ethno-nationalist narratives were less prevalent than in previous election cycles, false claims linking the NPP’s policies and Buddhist culture as well as falsely attributing statements to former MP M.A. Sumanthiran were still circulated. After the presidential election there were false claims stating that former president Ranil Wickremesinghe after his defeat was appointed as the Chairman of the Asian Development Bank.
One of the biggest challenges during the presidential election were polls and fabricated surveys that were intended to skew the public opinion. Polls facilitated on social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube are unlikely to provide a balanced result due to the algorithmic bias of the platforms as well as the activity of fake profiles and bots. There were also organised groups sharing results of surveys that were falsely attributed to reputed organisations such as the European Union and the United Nations. There were also multiple false claims of election results including the results of the postal vote even before that counting had begun.
Another significant form of misleading narrative targeted the Election Commission and the electoral process itself. False claims were spread about vacancies within the commission alongside misleading posts and videos offering incorrect instructions on how to mark the ballot. As election day approached there were also reports of fabricated incidents of violence circulating on social media likely intended to discourage voters from heading to the polling stations. These false reports often included videos and images from past events such as the aragalaya protests and road accidents in an attempt to create a sense of unrest and fear.
An interesting development during the parliamentary election involves the candidacy of Ashen Seneratna. Although his initial nomination was rejected, he is now claiming the possibility to enter parliament through a different independent group. According to the Election Commission, this would require all other candidates in that independent group to resign if they win a seat, which is an unlikely situation. There were claims related to popular candidates such as Dr. Harini Amarasuriya and Angajan Ramanadan being shared widely on social media. There was also a wide circulation of misleading posts and videos related to significant incidents such as the IMF agreements, acquitting of Dr. Shafi Shihabdeen and the security situation in Arugam Bay.
As we are currently on the brink of the parliamentary election it is important to re-evaluate the information that you have consumed which may influence your vote. We are observing trends of disinformation and misleading narratives that are being shared online. These are often based on certain underlying stereotypes related to sensitive attributes such as ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation of a candidate. Audiences are likely to interpret information that confirms or supports their already existing thoughts and opinions based on such stereotypes or populist narratives. It is also important to be critical if any information is driving emotions, positive or negative, as they can be likely to mislead audiences. As the voting approaches, all voters should refer to official party and candidate manifestos rather than relying on social media posts. It is advisable for voters to refer to reputed fact checking organisations such as AFP Sri Lanka, Hashtag Generation, Fact Crescendo and FactCheckLK by Verite Research. Voters should also pay attention to official media releases and awareness raising efforts of the Election Commission to learn about the voting process and other relevant information.
The upcoming parliamentary election is undeniably a critical turning point for Sri Lanka’s recovery, both from its economic crisis and from past governance failures. As the political landscape of the country has evolved, the election has become more open and competitive, making each voter’s choice more significant than ever. It is therefore essential for voters to critically assess the information they receive and make well informed decisions when electing their parliamentary representatives. Critical evaluation of information online and offline is a key responsibility of the modern day voter. It is essential in ensuring that the election reflects the true will of the people and contributes to the country’s path toward recovery.
