Government dissemination of false information
By: Tamara Köhler
Feb 08, 2023
A growing number of governments are spreading disinformation with often violent consequences. This week’s graph shows the increasing level of government domestic dissemination of false information in the United States of America and Brazil.
Following their electoral defeats, former presidents Trump and Bolsonaro made unfounded claims over election fraud. Subsequently, both countries experienced violent attacks on their government’s institutions. Over the years, first as a congressman and then as president, Jair Bolsonaro had repeatedly spread these claims through channels such as weekly livestreams and social media posts, thereby encouraging citizen distrust in Brazil’s elections. In a similar fashion, former US president Donald Trump had also consistently spread lies about a stolen election, resulting in the January 6 attack on the US capitol.
Populist politicians in countries such as the US or Brazil, often feed into polarization of the public by spreading false information, thereby posing a risk to democracy.
