Navigating Algorithmic Disinformation Models with Artificial Intelligence: Asymmetries and Comparisons

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Published: Dec 31, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681/hapscpbs.45359
Keywords:
AI Disinformation Democracy Governance Public Debate
Arthur Gugliucciello
University of Salerno, Italy.
Abstract

The exponential growth and diffusion of artificial intelligence (AI) have significantly heightened awareness of its potential effects across multiple domains. AI has become a well-established presence in society, enabling the widespread adoption of systems based on this technology and drawing global attention to its role in the manipulation of public opinion. AI should therefore not be understood merely as a “technical tool,” but as a technology endowed with political qualities. It is capable of shaping how individuals interact and how power is exercised, at speeds and scales far exceeding those of past forms of propaganda. This article is based on a critical-theoretical analysis of disinformation disseminated through media platforms and implemented via AI, with particular attention to the phenomenon as observed in China and the United States. The analysis reveals a dichotomy between a market-driven form of manipulation in the United States and a state-stability-oriented model in China. In both cases, AI emerges as a powerful accelerator of power asymmetries, making it necessary to redefine digital social contracts in order to counteract the automation of consent and the crisis of information.

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