Will 2024 be the year fake news destroys democracy?


High stakes: In the US, the electoral favourite appears to revel in the possibility of becoming a dictator. — AFP

IN 2024, democracy will face a test for which it is unready. For the first time since the internet age began, the world’s four largest electoral blocs – India, the European Union, the United States and Indonesia – will hold general elections in the same year. Almost a billion people may go to the polls this year, amid a storm of disinformation and digital manipulation unlike anything the world has yet seen.

The stakes are extraordinarily consequential for the future of democracy itself. In the US, the electoral favourite appears to revel in the possibility of becoming a dictator. In the EU, the far right is poised to surge continent-wide. Indonesia’s front-runner is a former general once accused of human-rights violations. And in India, a beleaguered opposition faces its last chance to stave off what may otherwise turn into decades of one-party rule.

Play, subscribe and stand a chance to win prizes worth over RM39,000! T&C applies.

Monthly Plan

RM 13.90/month

RM 11.12/month

Billed as RM 11.12 for the 1st month, RM 13.90 thereafter.

Best Value

Annual Plan

RM 12.33/month

RM 9.87/month

Billed as RM 118.40 for the 1st year, RM 148 thereafter.

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

Next In Focus

Back to coal as conflict chokes gas supply
The pipeline that arms cartels
Behind Germany’s far-right surge
Big Tech’s military bet is paying off
The winter that killed the oyster renaissance
Sinaloa warms to US strikes
A pub crawl, but hold the booze
Congo’s race to save its past
Tears and triumph at the border
Copy, paste and retaliate

Others Also Read