Deepfakes as a strategy to spread misinformation on social media during Ecuador’s election campaigns

Abstract

This article analyzes the use of different types of deepfakes in electoral processes in Ecuador, from the end of 2023 to April 2025. It focuses on the prominent role of these audiovisual resources in spreading disinformation in digital environments, specifically on the X network. The objective of this work is to analyze the polarization and the emotional and political impact caused by these publications, through the analysis of 20 deepfakes that went viral on X and were reported as false, during the last two presidential campaigns. The methodology applied is mixed. With the support of the Grok tool, sentiment analysis, thematic coding, and metrics of reach and virality of these publications were carried out. The results revealed a pattern of media manipulation that generated outrage, fear, and rejection, which deepened polarization and affected public trust in the democratic process. This study demonstrates the power of deepfakes to distort and influence the electorate’s perceptions and the threat they pose to the integrity of public debate and democracy in countries with very marked political tendencies such as Ecuador, where greater digital literacy, content verification, and ethical regulation of the use of artificial intelligence are needed.