AI and Digital Influence in Elections

The Tow Center for Digital Journalism is hosting a one day conference to encourage conversations between journalists and researchers as we navigate the ever-changing and chaotic information landscape leading up to the 2026 midterms. Sessions will cover the current state of AI’s role in electoral politics, current digital influence methods, the promise and limits of predictive analytics, and the practical standards newsrooms need when the tools shaping information are moving faster than the institutions meant to check them.

Registration closes 24 hours before event start.

Info: AI-generated content spreads while newsroom staffing shrinks. That means fewer journalists are left to track an information movement that’s constantly shifting. This panel takes stock of where AI and electoral politics currently stand. The panelists will look at a broad view of how newsrooms are covering elections in light of increased information influence campaigns, how newsrooms can improve their coverage, and what journalists and scholars can expect from the midterms and beyond

Info: Anyone who wants to influence public opinion and election discourse can get an influence operation up and running within minutes at very little cost. Understanding the mechanics behind these influence methods is vital. Panelists will talk about the blurred lines between authentic and manufactured discourse, tracing how digital influence campaigns spread and evolve over time.

Info: It’s a safe bet to say the upcoming midterm elections are arguably one of the most impactful in the nation’s history. And you can now literally bet on that too, with a variety of prediction markets allowing you to place bets on politics and current events, as well as pretty much anything you can think of. Betting markets have muscled their way into the conversation as a parallel source of election prediction, following in the footsteps of public polling and resulting in the need to talk about how journalists should responsibly report on predictive data.

Info: Mis- and disinformation has scaled at a pace that traditional fact-checking frameworks weren't built to handle. With synthetic content newsrooms are being forced to update their verification processes. This conversation will center on topics such as how newsrooms are adapting internally; what standards are being written into style guides and editorial workflows; how verification pipelines are structured; and what accountability looks like when a newsroom gets it wrong.

Event venue & nearby stays

Pulitzer Hall, 2950 Broadway, New York, United States

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