Around half the world’s population have the chance to vote in elections this year – the UK included – so it’s little surprise that we’re already being bombarded with disinformation designed to influence our voting choices.

In January, research was published revealing that over 100 deepfake video ads impersonating Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had reached 400,000 people on Facebook as part of a concerted smear campaign.

According to research from communications company Fenimore Harper, a spoof BBC News story claiming Sunak has taken part in a billion-dollar scam with Elon Musk had been promoted by anonymous sources in 23 countries.

Labour leader Keir Starmer received similar treatment on the opening day of last October’s Labour Party conference, when a fake audio clip of Starmer swearing at employees appeared on X (formerly Twitter). A few weeks earlier, reports had emerged that anonymous actors used fake social media accounts to rile up voters with anti-ULEZ [ultra-low emission zone] propaganda...