Election Interference in the Digital Age and Political Distrust: Russian Interference in the 2016 United States Presidential Election

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  • デジタル時代の選挙介入と政治不信　―ロシアによる2016年米大統領選挙介入を例に―
  • デジタル ジダイ ノ センキョ カイニュウ ト セイジ フシン : ロシア ニ ヨル 2016ネン ベイダイトウリョウ センキョ カイニュウ オ レイ ニ

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<p>It is important for modern democracy to carry out fair elections. As exemplified by the 2016 United States presidential election, however, the legitimacy and trustworthiness of some elections have been questioned by foreign malign interference. This paper explores political distrust brought about by election interference in the digital age, while looking into the case of 2016 U.S. presidential election. The Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election that have been confirmed to date can be understood in three ways: (1) thefts and revelation of confidential information concerning political organizations and candidates through cyberattacks; (2) influence campaign, disinformation, and political advertising through government-affiliated media outlets and social media; and (3) cyberattacks on election infrastructure, including voting and counting systems. This study concludes from the case of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election as follows. First, foreign election interference spreads distrust of both “specific political phenomenon” such as candidates and policies, and “political system in general” such as elections and democratic process itself. Distrust of “specific political phenomenon” can turn into distrust of “political system,” and vice versa. Second, as electoral processes such as election campaign and ballot counting have become increasingly dependent on digital infrastructure, the effectiveness of election interference through cyberspace and social media has improved in the aspects of (1) anonymity of attackers, (2) scale of interference and exposure to voters, and (3) targeting based on personal data.</p>

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