As the US midterm elections approach on November 3, millions of voters are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence-based chatbots for election information, but studies warn that these tools may exacerbate electoral disinformation by spreading false information, confusing candidates, and promoting Russian propaganda.
Although chatbots can debunk conspiracy theories and provide useful information to voters, several studies show that they often get their answers from unreliable online sources, undermining public trust and increasing the spread of misinformation in a digital space already plagued by electoral disinformation.
A recent study conducted by Forum AI, a startup specializing in evaluating artificial intelligence models, found that about 40 percent of chatbot answers to election-related questions included at least one error.
When the company's researchers asked Anthropic's chatbot, Claude, why voters should elect North Carolina Rep. Don Davis, the bot listed his qualifications as "former school district superintendent," confusing him with someone else.
The study, which also included eight models, found that chatbots provided incorrect answers about the practicalities of voting more frequently than errors about the candidates. When asked about voting in Pennsylvania, Google's Gemini 3.6 Flash model responded that November 3 is the deadline for requesting a mail-in ballot, while the actual date is a week before that.
Forum AI reported that chatbots “attributed statements to candidates, officials, and observers that were not theirs hundreds of times,” and repeatedly cited “low-quality” sources, such as discussions on the Reddit platform. “We focus on helping voters find reliable information across our platforms,” Google said in a statement, adding that it applies “strict quality and policy controls” to its artificial intelligence products regarding electoral topics.
In late October, AFP fact-checking journalists refuted a video, likely edited using artificial intelligence, that reportedly showed a former student of Texas Senate candidate James Tallarico accusing him of sexual misconduct, an unsubstantiated accusation bearing the hallmarks of a Russian disinformation campaign. Google's AI Overview service re-presented the same accusation in response to a question from NewsGuard, a website specializing in monitoring misinformation, as well as Gemini (Google) and CoPilot (Microsoft).
“Users of AI-based chatbots are at risk of falling victim to deception by foreign influence operations and other malicious parties,” NewsGuard said in a separate study that included ten artificial intelligence tools. But a later test conducted by Agence France-Presse, after widespread reports refuting the accusation, showed that the artificial intelligence tools based their answers on specialized fact-checkers, indicating that their answers varied from one test to another.
In a recent poll conducted by the National Conference on Citizenship, two out of five Americans said they had used artificial intelligence tools to search for election information. According to the survey, only 40 percent trust these tools to obtain procedural information, while 60 percent said they “trust them a little or do not trust them at all” with regard to their impartiality toward candidates.
On the other hand, a White House official and two sources told Reuters news agency that US President Donald Trump's aides spent months preparing for the possibility that Democrats would take control of Congress, and made plans to continue implementing major parts of his agenda through the executive branch while preparing for scrutiny of his administration. The three sources said that senior officials, such as Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff, and Russell Vought, director of the budget, have been working with the White House Counsel's Office since April, to determine executive actions related to immigration, tariffs, housing costs, and federal spending that Trump could take without the approval of Congress.
The White House official said that White House Counsel Will Scharf and members of his team are also exploring “what Trump can do legally on his own, where he can reach the limits of his authority and how to defend those decisions in the courts.” These plans before the midterm elections highlight a remarkable political paradox: Control of Congress will give Democrats the ability to open investigations into Trump, block bills, and restrict his spending priorities. But at the same time, Trump will retain broad executive powers in trade, foreign policy, and managing the federal government.
The White House official told Reuters news agency that among the executive measures under consideration are imposing new customs duties on imports of vital metals and wind turbines, imposing stricter rules on visas for international students and temporary foreign workers, and measures aimed at reducing housing and construction costs. One source said Vought, whose Office of Management and Budget oversees federal spending, is considering priorities that could be moved forward using money already appropriated by Congress. He also wants to change federal grant rules to give appointed political officials more power in determining which government programs receive taxpayer money.
Trump has already explored the limits of his power as president since returning to office in January 2025, using executive authority to impose sweeping tariffs, ramp up immigration enforcement and shrink the federal workforce. “President Trump has essentially ignored Congress over the past two years, trying to advance his policies as much as possible through executive orders and executive authority,” said Nathan Gonzalez, editor of Inside Elections. "I think he will not continue this unless there is a Democratic majority."
