Background

Elections are more than just the casting of votes on polling day. They are major milestones in the political life of democratic societies. They are a compelling way for citizens to participate in governance and make their voices heard.

The right to freedom of opinion and expression enables political parties and candidates to campaign freely, share information and engage with voters. It empowers citizens to express their views on the policies and performances of politicians, discuss, debate and decide on whom to elect and ultimately hold them to account. It allows the media to report without fear or favour, and electoral officials to ensure that elections are free, fair and safe. However, elections in many countries lead to heightened political tensions, during which freedom of expression is suppressed, candidates, political activists and journalists attacked, and information manipulated to spread falsehoods, trigger fear and incite hatred and violence, threatening political participation and undermining public trust in democracy.

Digital technology has enhanced both opportunities and threats to information flows during elections. On the one hand, it has facilitated access to information and increased pathways and possibilities to seek, receive and impart information and ideas and form opinions. On the other hand, it has amplified disinformation, misinformation and hate speech, targeting women, minorities and journalists, manipulating public opinion, undermining the legitimacy and integrity of electoral processes.

Objectives

The report will analyse the information environment in the electoral context and assess the opportunities, threats and challenges to freedom of expression and their impact on voters, especially marginalized groups, candidates, activists, journalists, electoral officials and election observers, among others.

The report will cover the safety of journalists during elections, as well as threats to media independence, diversity and pluralism, and media monopolies or relations between media and political actors that can be affect elections.

The report will also examine the role, responsibilities and responses of State and non-State actors, including governments, political parties, media companies, social media platforms and AI developers.

It will explore pertinent questions around hoe the use of technologies such as Generative AI impacts on trust in information and feeds existing systemic problems of electoral disinformation, and the role of political advertising and social media "influencers" in driving political messaging. The Special Rapporteur is also interested in exploring the phenomena of cross-border election interference as a violation of human rights.

The Special Rapporteur is also seeking information on laws, regulations and policies that protect expression in the election environment effectively and good practices by courts, regulators, civil society and other actors to combat threats and challenges and enable free expression during elections.

The Special Rapporteur invites governments, international and regional organisations, institutions such as national electoral management bodies, election observation missions and national human rights institutions, media organisations, digital technology companies, human rights and other civil society organisations, researchers, legal experts and scholars to share their views.

The Special Rapporteur would welcome information and comments in response to one or more of the following questions. Please provide concrete examples and statistical data, if available, and where appropriate, highlight gender, ethnic, racial or religious dimensions.

Key questions and types of input/comments sought

Overall issues

• What have been the key trends, threats or challenges to freedom of expression in the context of elections in your country or in countries where you work?
• What laws, policies or other measures have i) governments; ii) digital and social media companies iii) media companies and iv) electoral and regulatory bodies, taken to uphold and safeguard freedom of expression and access to information in the context of elections in your country or countries where you work? What has been the impact of these measures?
• What barriers do voters face in accessing information relating to elections in your country or the countries where you work? What measures are being taken to address them and with what effect?
• Have there been threats, violence or incitement to violence, hostility and discrimination against specific groups in the context of elections in your country or countries where you work? Who were targeted and what action did the government take to protect the groups and prevent further attacks?
• What means do candidates and political parties use to communicate with their constituents, especially in the context of elections? Do they face any restrictions, barriers or threats, in communicating with the electorate?

Media and journalists

• What are the key challenges, threats and restrictions faced by journalists during elections in your country or countries in which you work?
• Do you consider the media to be independent, diverse and pluralistic in your country or the countries you work? If not, what effect does that have on people’s right to information during elections?

Digital technology 

• What policies, practices and measures have social media platforms taken to address online threats and challenges to freedom of expression during elections in your country or countries where you work? How effective have they been?
• What roles have new online stakeholders, such as social media “influencers”, played in addressing or aggravating the trends, threats and challenges to freedom of expression during elections?

Information manipulation

• What role has disinformation, misinformation or hate speech, online and offline, played during elections in your country or countries where you work? What efforts were made to combat it, and with what effect?
• Do/did the government, or candidates and political parties contribute to the creation or spread of disinformation? What, if any, action was taken to address it, by whom and with what effect?
• What legal or policy measures exist or have been introduced in your country to address disinformation, misinformation or “hate speech”? How effective have they been to address such practices during elections?
• Do you have information on digital cross-border interference in elections? What happened and what action was taken to counter or prevent such information?

Recommendations and good practices

• What recommendation would you like the Special Rapporteur to make to governments, political parties, regulatory bodies, companies, the media and civil society in relation to the right to freedom of expression in the context of elections?
• Please provide examples of good practices by governments, companies, the media sector, civil society and other stakeholders.

How inputs will be used?

All submission will be made public alongside the report. Please indicate if you do not wish your submission to be published or cited in the report.