In the modern political world, social media has transformed the way that elections are fought and won. This election serves as a clear example of how its outcome was heavily influenced by the information spread along social media platforms.  As a result, large amounts of information —whether true, false, or misleading—has created challenges for voters, particularly in the face of widespread media literacy gaps. 

Different kinds of information definitely can swing election results, and both parties are guilty of spreading misinformation. Political campaigns and groups now focus heavily on targeting individuals with tailored information via social media, leveraging sophisticated data analytics and algorithms. 

Now, so much information – true or not –  about candidates and their policies, is spread around the media, and a lack of media literacy as a society is becoming a large issue. 

This election was purely decided by the information spread over social media. To win an election, it is shown that either side, primarily the left, has to web together a healthy and efficient information ecosystem. They need to be able to break through to the other side’s “propaganda”, and reach voters. 

Podcasts have had a high rise in popularity over the last few years, and during the month of November, specifically during election week, there was a correlation between the top podcasts. In the top few, Candace Owens, Charlie Kirk, and Joe Rogan were some of the few that were very high on the Spotify Top Podcasts Charts.

The similarity between all of these podcasts is that all of them have very extremist right-wing views.

These podcasts put a spotlight on the extremist right wing views, and become “viral” on the internet for tiny clips of what is said during these podcasts. More often than not, the popular clip is full of an extreme claim, a controversial topic, etc. 

The main reason these are coming up in podcasts specifically, is the fact that podcasts are not regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, meaning that there is no check on a show’s ability to spread misinformation.

Republicans are also pushing for social media companies to stop the fight towards election misinformation. Ever since Elon Musk took over Twitter and turned it into X, he has turned it from one of the most popular social media platforms for real-time information, into a “hotbed of conspiracy theories and misinformation”. 

While misinformation coming from America itself is one problem, there is another problem brewing from other parts of the globe. Some foreign countries- specifically Russia, China and Iran – spread misinformation to America via social media.

Typically, what countries would do is manipulate networks of fraudulent social media accounts and sites to roll out content specifically designed to target Americans’ trust and confidence in election security and American democracy. Russia’s acts primarily helped the republican side of the election, and hurt the democratic side. 

In 2016, there were many conspiracies as to how Russia meddled into the presidential election. The top reasons were that they released politically damaging information on the internet; spread propaganda on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. And yet again, we saw the same thing happening in the 2024 election.

They created staged videos that aimed to harm democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz. These videos pieced together random clips of her speeches, making it seem like she said something that she did not. 

However, Russia and other countries denied having any part in interfering with the election whatsoever. Brian Taylor, a political science professor and Russia expert at Syracuse University, said that Russia had the intent not, “to elect President Trump, but to steer the United States in a particular direction. Trump’s election is one step in that process.” 

The reason for this is because Trump is against U.S. aid to Ukraine, therefore this would help Russia take over Ukraine. 

One of the biggest reasons that this is an issue is because there is a lack in media literacy across American citizens. Media literacy is the ability to analyze information presented by the media, determine the credibility of said information, and to determine what to trust.

With the rise in Artificial Intelligence, it is more difficult than ever to be able to determine whether something is real or fake. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that 39% of Americans say that AI will be used for bad purposes in the election campaign, while only 5% said it would be used for good purposes. 

Right now, American citizens are more politically divided than ever before.

And it is true, we really don’t hate each other. But other social media companies, lawmakers, and constitutional experts make it seem like we do by spreading misinformation. As a country, it is crucial that we find a way to burst through the information bubble, and ultimately put an end to this so-called “information war”.