State actors, disinformation, and social media: a new and dangerous chapter of lying in politics

Book section : Chapter

While it is true that lying in politics is nothing new and that state actors have always enjoyed an outsized influence on public discourse, the digital era provides an abundance of new tools, particularly social media, for these actors to magnify their voices in unprecedented ways absent the gatekeeping function served by traditional media. As state actors across the globe increasingly turn to social media to communicate directly with citizens, more and more people are turning to social media for political news, thereby creating an ideal environment for purveyors of disinformation. This chapter explores the growing threat to democracies around the world posed by state actors abusing social media by disseminating disinformation to domestic audiences. The disinformation campaign led by former President Trump regarding the integrity of the 2020 election provides a stark example of the effectiveness of this type of speech in undermining the public’s faith in democratic norms and institutions. While social media companies face increasing pressure from governments to aggressively root out and remove disinformation on their platforms, the challenges of regulation become significantly more complex when the purveyor of disinformation is the government itself. The growing problem of domestic disinformation from state actors raises important questions regarding the dangers, tensions, and regulatory challenges that arise in this context.

Authors: Bechtold, E

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Routledge
• Host title: Routledge Handbook of Social Media, Law and Society
• Pages: 68-84
• Chapter number: 7
• Series: Routledge Handbooks
• Place of publication: London
• Publication date: 2025-09-30
• Edition: 1
• DOI: 10.4324/9781003252740-10
• EISBN: 9781003252740
• ISBN-10: 1032180781
• ISBN-13: 9781032180786
• Language: English
• Keywords: online social networks
• Subtype: Chapter