ScienceNot yet confirmed elsewhere1 publisher2 min readPublished
International IDEA logs disinformation in at least 62% of 2025's national elections
International IDEA's review of 39 national elections in 2025 recorded disinformation narratives in at least 62% of them. Its authors still judge election quality broadly stable and offer 20 case studies as lessons for other countries.
The Scientist · Science desk
Key figures: gender-based violence was recorded in national electoral contexts in at least 22 countries monitored; natural hazards affected elections in 11 countries; the review covers 39 countries with national elections in 2025; the report has 20 case studies.
| Figure | Value | Note | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Countries with election gender-based violence, at least | 22 countries | 5 | |
| Hazard-hit countries | 11 countries | 6 | |
| Countries reviewed | 39 countries | 2 | |
| Report case studies | 20 case studies | 10 |
What happened
- Gender-based violence was recorded in at least 22 of the countries monitored, many of the cases committed, enabled or amplified through digital technologies.
- In 11 monitored countries, including Ecuador, the Philippines and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 12 national and local elections were affected by natural hazards such as floods, heat waves and tropical storms.
- Electoral Integrity Project data show campaigns have continued to be the poorest-performing stage of the electoral cycle, with spending irregularities in Australia, Albania and Romania among the examples.
- The report also points to growing pressure on media integrity and campaign finance, citing declining press freedom and increasingly digital financial flows.
Why it matters
- constraint The counts record whether an instance appeared in an election, so about 24 elections with disinformation could include very different scales of harm and cannot rank threats.
- exposure Weather touched about 28% of the countries reviewed, so planners for fixed-date votes in those places carry a hazard risk the report treats as growing.
- decision An election body weighing the 20 case studies has to pick which to adopt, since the report says not every initiative produced its intended results.
The three headline counts do not share a unit. Disinformation is a share of the 39 elections, which works out to about 24 of them [13][3]. Gender-based violence is a count of countries, 22 of 39 or roughly 56% [14][5]. Weather is 12 elections, national and local, in 11 countries, about 28% of the 39 by country [15][6]. The weather count includes local elections and the disinformation count covers national ones, so the figures cannot be stacked side by side.
Each count records whether an instance turned up. An election with one recorded narrative and an election saturated with them both count once in the 62% [3]. The count does not show how large any instance was or whether it changed a result. The report's own verdict is that election quality remained broadly stable [9].
The disinformation examples the report cites for Moldova, Ireland, Cote d'Ivoire and Australia included allegations of electoral fraud and AI-generated deepfakes [4]. Toby James, who co-authored and co-edited the report, said: "Challenges such as the role of money in elections, election disinformation and political polarization are not confined to single countries." [12]
The argument for borrowing across borders rests on 20 case studies spread over nine chapters [10]. They cover changes to voting arrangements, digital tools, regulatory reforms, risk-management measures and new forms of cooperation [10]. The summary is candid that results varied: not every initiative produced the intended results, though the examples still offer practical lessons [11].
The phys.org summary does not say how the 20 cases were chosen or whether outcomes were compared with places that tried nothing. Without that, a case study shows what one body tried and what followed in that country, and attributing the result to the response takes a comparison [10][11].
What to watch
- Whether the full report describes how its 20 case studies were chosen and whether outcomes were compared with places that did nothing.
- Whether Electoral Integrity Project data for the next election year still rank campaigns as the poorest-performing stage.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence50
- Adoption
- Insufficient
- Hype gap−10
- Incentives
- Insufficient
- Confidence55
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
The report, Review of the 2025 Year of Elections: Inclusivity, Transparency and Trust, is from International IDEA, was written with the Electoral Integrity Project and was co-authored by Toby James of the University of East Anglia.
- [2]
The report examines 39 countries that held national elections in 2025.
- [3]
Instances of misinformation and disinformation narratives were recorded in at least 62% of the 39 national elections monitored.
- [4]
In Moldova, Ireland, Cote d'Ivoire and Australia, disinformation examples included allegations of electoral fraud and AI-generated deepfakes.
- [5]
In at least 22 countries monitored, instances of gender-based violence were recorded in national electoral contexts, many committed, enabled or amplified through digital technologies.
- [6]
Floods, heat waves, tropical storms and other natural hazards affected 12 national and local elections in 11 countries monitored, including Ecuador, the Philippines and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
- [7]
Data from the Electoral Integrity Project show electoral campaigns have continued to be the poorest-performing stage of the electoral cycle; notable campaign finance examples include Australia, Albania and Romania.
- [8]
The report points to growing pressure on media integrity and campaign finance, as declining press freedom and increasingly digital financial flows create new challenges.
- [9]
The report finds that election quality remained broadly stable despite these pressures.
- [10]
Across nine chapters and 20 case studies, the report examines innovation including changes to voting arrangements, digital tools, regulatory reforms, risk-management measures and new forms of cooperation.
- [11]
Not every initiative produced the intended results, but the examples offer practical lessons on how electoral management can evolve.
- [12]
"Challenges such as the role of money in elections, election disinformation and political polarization are not confined to single countries," said Toby James.
ReportedSupportedSource: Toby James, professor of politics and public policy, University of East AngliaView cited source - [13]
At least 62% of 39 elections is about 24 elections.
Sources
1 independent publisher whose own reporting we read for this story.
- phys.orgElectoral integrity under pressure as elections faced persistent threats in 2025
1 article · October 12, 2026
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