Examining 100 election mission observation reports spanning from 2016 to 2023 across EU member states, it becomes evident that online campaigns are largely unregulated. Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) lack the necessary tools for social media oversight in the digital age. They face significant resource limitations, experiencing difficulties even in traditional oversight.
AI can be employed by electoral management bodies for various purposes in social media monitoring, including:
Monitoring Media Coverage: Use AI systems to monitor social media for media coverage related to elections. This includes tracking discussions, trends and sentiments surrounding political candidates and issues.
Enforcing Campaign Silence Periods: Employ AI tools to aid in upholding campaign silence periods by automatically detecting and flagging violations on social media platforms. This ensures compliance with electoral regulations during election periods.
Regulating Political Ads: Utilise AI systems to aid in regulating political advertisements on social media by identifying and verifying sponsored content, ensuring transparency in campaign financing and detecting any false information in political ads.
By leveraging AI technologies in social media monitoring, EMBs can enhance transparency, integrity and accountability in electoral processes.
Governments’ use of AI systems in social media monitoring during elections 
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