AI Models Spread Election Misinformation in Spanish, Raising Concerns for Latino Voters
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How AI models, including Facebook's, are spreading election misinformation in Spanish
With just days before the presidential election, Latino voters are facing a barrage of targeted ads in Spanish and a new source of political messaging in the artificial intelligence age: chatbots generating unfounded claims in Spanish about voting rights. AI models are producing a stream of
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Voting rights groups worry AI models are generating inaccurate and misleading responses in Spanish
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- With just days before the presidential election, Latino voters are facing a barrage of targeted ads in Spanish and a new source of political messaging in the artificial intelligence age: chatbots generating unfounded claims in Spanish about voting rights. AI models are
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Voting rights groups worry AI models are generating inaccurate and misleading responses in Spanish
SAN FRANCISCO -- With just days before the presidential election, Latino voters are facing a barrage of targeted ads in Spanish and a new source of political messaging in the artificial intelligence age: chatbots generating unfounded claims in Spanish about voting rights. AI models are producing a
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Latino voters say they're being targeted by AI-generated ads in Spanish with incorrect voting information -- and Facebook's model is one of the worst offenders
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- With just days before the presidential election, Latino voters are facing a barrage of targeted ads in Spanish and a new source of political messaging in the artificial intelligence age: chatbots generating unfounded claims in Spanish about voting rights. AI models are
[5]
Voting rights groups worry AI models are generating inaccurate and misleading responses in Spanish
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- With just days before the presidential election, Latino voters are facing a barrage of targeted ads in Spanish and a new source of political messaging in the artificial intelligence age: chatbots generating unfounded claims in Spanish about voting rights. AI models are
[6]
Voting Rights Groups Worry AI Models Are Generating Inaccurate and Misleading Responses in Spanish
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- With just days before the presidential election, Latino voters are facing a barrage of targeted ads in Spanish and a new source of political messaging in the artificial intelligence age: chatbots generating unfounded claims in Spanish about voting rights. AI models are
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Voting Rights Groups Warn About AI Generating Unfounded Claims in Spanish
Two voting rights groups have issued warnings this month about the possibility of artificial intelligence (AI) generating unfounded claims about the upcoming election in Spanish. With just days until the presidential election, Latino voters are seeing a surge of Spanish-language ads and a new wave
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AI-generated responses in Spanish contain more election-related falsehoods than in English, potentially impacting Latino voters. Major tech companies' AI models, including Meta's Llama 3, struggle with accuracy in Spanish-language queries about voting rights and processes.
AI Models Spread Misinformation in Spanish
As the presidential election approaches, Latino voters are facing a new challenge in the form of AI-generated misinformation in Spanish. According to an analysis by nonprofit newsrooms Proof News and Factchequeado, in collaboration with the Science, Technology and Social Values Lab at the Institute for Advanced Study, AI models are producing election-related falsehoods more frequently in Spanish than in English
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.The study found that more than half of the elections-related responses generated in Spanish contained incorrect information, compared to 43% of responses in English
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. This discrepancy raises concerns about the potential impact on one of the nation's fastest-growing and increasingly influential voting blocs.Performance of Major AI Models
Meta's Llama 3 model, which powers AI assistants in WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, performed particularly poorly in the test. Nearly two-thirds of its responses in Spanish were incorrect, compared to roughly half in English
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.Other major AI models also struggled with accuracy:
- Anthropic's Claude model directed users to contact election authorities in "your country or region," suggesting countries like Mexico and Venezuela for U.S. election queries
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. - Google's Gemini model provided nonsensical answers when asked to define the Electoral College
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Implications for Latino Voters
The prevalence of AI-generated misinformation could have significant implications in states with large Hispanic populations, such as Arizona, Nevada, Florida, and California. In California alone, nearly one-third of all eligible voters are Latino, with one in five Latino eligible voters speaking only Spanish
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.Voting rights advocates warn that this issue may deepen information disparities for Spanish-speaking voters, who are being heavily courted by both Democrats and Republicans
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Response from Tech Companies
In response to these findings:
- Meta stated that Llama 3 was intended for developers to build other products and that they are training their models on safety and responsibility guidelines
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. - Anthropic reported making changes to better address Spanish-language queries and redirect users to authoritative sources on voting-related issues
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. - Google did not respond to requests for comment
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Recommendations for Voters
Lydia Guzman, who leads a voter advocacy campaign at Chicanos Por La Causa, emphasizes the importance of thorough research: "It's important for every voter to do proper research and not just at one entity, at several, to see together the right information and ask credible organizations for the right information"
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.As the influence of AI in political messaging grows, voters are advised to approach technology-generated information with caution. Rommell Lopez, a California paralegal, summarizes this sentiment: "We can trust technology, but not 100 percent. At the end of the day they're machines"
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