The US presidential election is scheduled for November 5, and to combat the spread of misinformation, Google has announced several measures across its platforms, covering the search engine, YouTube, Google Play, and generative AI applications.
Google noted that while malicious actors are indeed using AI to accelerate or amplify information warfare, they have not derived too many new strategies. Google stated that, as in previous years, it will roll out a feature in its search engine to help users across the US find voter registration information.
Democracy Works will compile the information from each state election office. When users search for information about candidates on YouTube, a small box will appear showing details like the candidate's party affiliation and linking to the search engine or the candidate's official website homepage.
In the weeks leading up to the election, YouTube's homepage will also display information on how and where to vote. In the app store, Google will provide a certification mark for apps released by official government entities, aiming to direct users toward reliable sources of information as much as possible.
In December 2023, Google announced restrictions on election-related queries in its Gemini program. As more generative AI features are integrated into its products, these election-related restrictions have been extended to other product lines, including the new search AI Overviews, Gemini's image generation feature, YouTube's summary generation function, and the custom chatbot feature Gems.
Google has also expanded the use of SynthID, a digital watermarking technology for AI-generated content, to cover text, voice, images, and videos. This watermark is invisible to the human eye but can be detected by digital systems, even if a filter is applied to the image.
Google stated that operators of political election-related websites can use the Workspace for Campaigns version to quickly deploy a secure core environment. Additionally, Project Shield is available to protect websites from DDoS attacks and issues caused by sudden spikes in traffic.
Google believes that while malicious actors are using AI to accelerate and scale up information warfare, there is no evidence of new strategies being deployed. Google will also use AI to detect problematic content and combat information warfare.
Meanwhile, social media platform giant Meta has been preparing to counter foreign interference and cognitive warfare in recent years. According to its website, since 2017, Meta has removed more than 200 websites involved in coordinated information falsification behavior.
Regarding the 2024 US election, Meta stated that it continues to collaborate with state governments to ensure its platforms like Facebook and Instagram provide accurate information and that users are directed to reliable sources when they click on related information.
