Archive · 20 Jan 2026
AI bots influence elections with fake content
AI can create fake news and fake social media accounts.
These fake accounts can spread the fake news quickly, making it seem like many people believe it.
This can confuse people and make it hard to know what is true.
A game called Capture the Narrative showed how easy it is to use AI to change the results of an election.
The game used AI to create fake posts and accounts to influence voters.
The game showed that AI can be used to create a lot of fake content quickly and easily.
It also showed that people need to be careful about what they read online and learn how to spot fake news.
AI-generated misinformation spread rapidly after a terrorist attack at Bondi Beach, Sydney, on December 14, 2025.
A wargame called Capture the Narrative showed how AI bots can influence a fictional election by generating and spreading fake content.
Over 60% of content in the wargame was generated by AI bots, surpassing 7 million posts.
The misinformation campaign in the wargame changed the election result by 1.78%.
The game highlighted the need for digital literacy to help people recognize and combat misinformation online.
- Who
- Students from 18 Australian universities participating in the Capture the Narrative wargame
- What
- AI bots generating and spreading misinformation to influence a fictional election
- When
- The wargame took place over a four-week campaign, with the terrorist attack occurring on December 14, 2025
- Where
- The wargame was conducted on an in-house social media platform, with the terrorist attack at Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia
- Why
- To understand the impact of AI-driven misinformation on public debate and election outcomes, and to raise awareness about digital literacy
- Date of Terrorist Attack
- December 14, 2025
- Location of Attack
- Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia
- Casualties
- 15 civilians and 1 gunman
- AI's Role in Misinformation
- Generates and spreads fake content, creates bot profiles
- Capture the Narrative
- World's first social media wargame for students to build AI bots
- Election Simulation Results
- Misinformation campaign changed election result by 1.78%
- Percentage of AI-Generated Content
- Around 50% of online content
- Number of Teams in Wargame
- 108 teams from 18 Australian universities
