US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION AND SPAIN FLOODING ARE MOST TARGETED TOPICS BY FALSE STORIES
The four Italian editorial projects that published fact-checking content, and contributed to this report*, published a total of 199 fact-checking articles as of November 2024. Of these, 7 (3.5%) dealt with cases of disinformation regarding the war in Ukraine, 10 (5%) with the war in the Middle East, 9 (4.5%) with the pandemic, 24 (12%) with climate change, 11 (7.5%) with the European Union, 10 (5%) with immigration, and 13 (6.5%) with gender or LGBTQ+ issues. Articles on the American election campaign accounted for 27 out of 199, or 13.5% of the total.
The US presidential elections were the most widely spread topic of disinformation in November, although the percentage was lower than in September (15%). False stories about the climate also increased: their value tripled in two months, from 3.9% in September to 12% in November. Disinformation about LGBTQ+ issues doubled compared to October, but remained at a relatively low level. Unfounded news about the EU and Ukraine did show growth, but to a lesser extent.
After the peak in October, the value of disinformation on the Middle East conflict has instead fallen by around 10%, in line with what was detected at European level by Edmo. The other topics that Idmo constantly monitors have remained almost stable or have only suffered slight declines.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE-GENERATED DISINFORMATION is on the decline
The percentage of fake stories using AI-generated content dropped in November. 13 of the 199 fact-checked articles involved AI-generated or AI-modified content, equivalent to 6.5% of the total misinformation detected. Despite the decrease, this is still higher than the European average detected by EDMO.
Among the fake stories that used AI in November, the most notable were a supposed photo of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu hospitalized and a generated image of alleged Kamala Harris supporters, portrayed as being maniacs. Other AI-generated fakes covered smaller issues, such as the real face of the Statue of Liberty and a plane carrying another.
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