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Electoral Epistemology

CT202
Module 2: The Machinery of Manipulation
3 Lessons

How automated and coordinated campaigns imitate genuine public opinion.

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The Machinery of Manipulation

1

Bot Networks and the Signs of Automation

You will understand how to recognise the fingerprints of automated social media accounts and coordinated networks designed to amplify false or misleading claims during election campaigns.

25 min
Theory
Examples
Quiz
Critical Questions
2

Coordinated Inauthentic Behaviour: When Networks Pose as Crowds

You will understand how organised teams simulate genuine grassroots opinion by coordinating across accounts, platforms and time zones to distort electoral discourse.

25 min
Theory
Examples
Quiz
Critical Questions
3

Deepfakes and Cheap Fakes: Weaponised Candidate Media

You will understand how synthetic and manipulated video and audio of candidates circulate during elections, the psychological mechanisms that make them persuasive, and practical strategies for assessing media authenticity.

25 min
Theory
Examples
Quiz
Critical Questions