International

US midterms saw ‘widespread disinformation’ affecting voters: monitors

Photo: Olivier Touron / AFP

| Bye AFP |

Midterm elections in the United States saw free but highly polarized campaigns and voter disinformation was widespread, international observers said Wednesday.

The comments by observers with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which monitors elections in Western nations and the former Soviet Union, came a day after Americans headed to the polls — with outcomes set to shape the political fortunes of President Joe Biden.

Biden’s Democrats are facing a struggle to hold on to control of Congress, after a race that he has cast as a defining moment for US democracy.

For now, Republicans are edging towards a slim majority in the US House of Representatives, but their hopes of a “red wave” appear dashed as the Democrats outperformed.

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“Campaigning was free but highly polarized,” and involved harsh rhetoric, said Margareta Cederfelt, leader of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s short-term observer mission.

“Polarization and widespread disinformation affected voters’ ability to inform themselves,” she told reporters on Wednesday, adding that the intimidation of election workers was concerning as well.

The election campaign has seen a gush of misinformation, with far-right Republican candidates endorsing former president Donald Trump’s baseless claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

Some have also seized on isolated voting machine glitches to launch what many saw as preemptive efforts to discredit the results.

A number of Republican candidates in key races, including those who, if elected, will have responsibility in overseeing future elections in their states, had challenged or refused to accept the legitimacy of the 2020 results, the OSCE noted in a statement on Wednesday.

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“Unfortunately… baseless allegations of fraud continued to have a serious result, in harassment of and threats against election officials,” Cederfelt added.

She noted that the vocal refusal by some in accepting the legitimacy of the 2020 results had a “harmful effect” on public discourse, lowering confidence in the system.

Accusations of rigging sprung up on social media platforms and were amplified by Trump after an Arizona county reported a minority of tabulation machines were not working during Tuesday’s vote.

Officials have since said there was no criminality involved in voting machine issues, and the OSCE added on Wednesday that it planned to follow up on the concerns in coming days.

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International

Paris prosecutors alert U.S. over alleged deepfake strategy linked to Elon Musk

The Paris Prosecutor’s Office said on Saturday that it had alerted authorities in the United States over suspicions that tech entrepreneur Elon Musk may have encouraged the spread of sexualized deepfake content on the social platform X to artificially boost the company’s valuation.

According to prosecutors, the controversy surrounding explicit AI-generated videos—reportedly linked to Grok, the platform’s artificial intelligence system—may have been deliberately triggered to increase the market value of X and X AI.

The office added that the alleged strategy could be tied to the planned June 2026 public listing of a new entity formed through the merger of SpaceX and X AI.

French authorities said they contacted the U.S. Department of Justice as well as legal representatives at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this week to share their concerns.

Responding on X in French to a report about the case, Musk referred to French prosecutors using an offensive term.

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When contacted, X’s legal representative in France did not immediately comment.

Grok, the platform’s AI system, has its own account on X, allowing users to interact with it or request content generation. For a period, users were able to tag the bot in posts to generate or edit images, a feature that may have facilitated the spread of such material.

International

Netanyahu vows to target Iran’s leadership after missile strikes in southern Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to target Iran’s leadership directly, escalating rhetoric amid ongoing hostilities between Israel and Iran.

Speaking during a visit to the southern city of Arad, which was struck by an Iranian missile a day earlier, Netanyahu said Israel would intensify its response against Tehran.

“We are going after the regime. We are going after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, that gang of criminals,” he told reporters while standing among the debris left by the தாக்க.

He added that Israel intends to strike “personally” at Iran’s leadership, as well as its facilities and economic assets.

In addition to Arad, Iranian missiles also hit the city of Dimona on Saturday. The area is widely believed to host Israel’s undeclared nuclear facilities. The strike caused significant damage following a direct impact.

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Netanyahu also visited Dimona, where he urged residents to strictly follow military instructions and seek shelter whenever warning sirens are activated.

“The entire nation is a front line, and the home front is also a front line. And when we are on the front line, we follow these instructions,” he said.

International

US panel backs Trump-themed coin amid controversy

The United States Department of the Treasury confirmed to AFP that the Commission of Fine Arts approved the design of a new collectible coin featuring Donald Trump, with members of the commission appointed by the current administration.

According to the proposal, the coin will feature an image of Trump standing with clenched fists over a desk on the obverse, while the reverse will display an eagle, a traditional symbol of the United States.

The sale price of the collectible has not yet been disclosed, although the United States Mint typically offers similar items for more than $1,000.

“There is no more iconic portrait for the front of these coins than that of our president Donald Trump,” U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach said in a statement sent to AFP. He added that two additional coins — a $1 piece and a one-ounce gold coin — are also under consideration.

However, the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC), another body responsible for reviewing new coin proposals, declined to discuss the Trump design in late February.

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“Only nations governed by kings or dictators place the image of a sitting leader on their currency,” said Donald Scarinciat the time. “No country in the world has minted coins featuring a democratically elected leader during their term in office,” he added.

When contacted by AFP, the Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.