2023 Annual Report: Preparing for a Seismic Election Year

In 2024, more than 4 billion people are eligible to vote, with major elections in over 76 countries around the world. In 2023 — a crucial year of preparation — CDT focused not only on secure elections infrastructure, but also on how to ensure voters can access reliable information about when and how to vote, and the candidates and issues at stake.

Drawing on the lessons of the 2020 U.S. general elections, CDT focused on ways to strengthen public confidence in the integrity of an election. Our 2022 report, De-Weaponizing and Standardizing the Post-Election Audit, advocated for a standardized methodology, independent credentialing system, and state-provided funding in order to depoliticize election audits. In February 2023, we convened leading elections experts to build consensus for such an approach and chart
a path forward.

As recent election years have shown all too clearly,
social media companies can play an outsized role
in the spread of mis- and disinformation about
elections.

As recent election years have shown all too clearly, social media companies can play an outsized role in the spread of mis- and disinformation about elections. CDT believes social media companies have a social responsibility to address this dynamic, including by helping their users find authoritative information about when, where, and how to vote; by maintaining transparent and accountable content moderation programs; by placing clear safeguards on political ads; and by combatting coordinated inauthentic activity on their services. In 2023, we continued urging social media companies to responsibly staff and resource such efforts – and, crucially, to do so in non-English languages and with contextually aware teams in different regions around the globe.

In the effort to support more transparent and accountable governance by social media companies, a key component is independent research by academics and nonprofit organizations who analyze our modern information environments. In 2023, these efforts came under increasing political attack in the U.S., with numerous research institutions facing lawsuits or subpoenas from a Congressional oversight committee. CDT spoke out to defend the method and mode of working, arguing that independent academic and civil society researchers play a vital role in holding social media companies and governments accountable, by researching and shining a public light on how information travels on platforms and how companies respond.

In 2023, we continued urging social media
companies to responsibly staff and resource such
efforts – and, crucially, to do so in non-English
languages and with contextually aware teams in
different regions around the globe.

In a report, Seismic Shifts: How Economic, Technological, and Political Trends are Challenging Independent Counter-Election-Disinformation Initiatives, we made the case that immediate steps must be taken to protect counter-disinformation research, and recommended new approaches for researchers to carry out their work.

The rise of generative AI added new urgency to efforts to address mis- and disinformation about elections, especially as early examples emerged of political deepfakes misleading public opinion about political candidates. In June, CDT President and CEO Alexandra Reeve Givens highlighted this issue in a hearing held by the Senate Judiciary Committee. While cautioning that legislative interventions must be approached with care to protect free expression and civil rights and liberties, Givens offered several concrete steps that would increase transparency and accountability in the design, development, and use of generative AI tools. She also underscored the need for elections officials to boost their presence as authoritative sources of information, including through basic steps such as hosting election-related information on trusted “.gov” web domains.

In October, CDT celebrated when the Biden Administration’s AI Executive Order contained a provision encouraging government officials to develop authentication techniques to increase public trust in their communications. CDT also filed comments urging the Federal Elections Commission to take up a proposal around the use of misleading deepfake images by political campaigns.

As the world prepares itself for a seismic election year, the online platforms and tech tools that play such an outsized role in our information environment will be put to the test. CDT will be working to help ensure technology supports empowered, free, and informed democracies.