In the report called “Freedom on the Net 2023: The Repression Power of Artificial Intelligence”, the organization indicated that the company Mind Force, based in Israel, operated a network of accounts in Angola that published content in support of the ruling party, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), and against the country's main opposition party, National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) .
"A Mind Force employee publicly revealed that the Angolan Government was a client,” says Freedom House.
This is just one of the report's examples of leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) to intensify disinformation campaigns on the Internet.
According to the investigation, between June 2022 and May 2023, the period in which the organization carried out the survey, at least 47 Governments – such as Russia, Brazil, China, India, Angola, Mexico, Venezuela or Nigeria – resorted to commentators to manipulate the online discussions in its favor, double the number recorded a decade ago.
Meanwhile, AI-based tools that can generate text, audio and images have quickly become more sophisticated, accessible and easier to use, fueling a worrying rise in these disinformation tactics.
During the period under review, the new technology was used in at least 16 countries to sow doubts, defame opponents or influence public debate, including China, France, Brazil, the United Kingdom, the United States or Canada, according to the non-profit organization Washington-based Freedom House.
However, the report finds that while innovations in AI have contributed to the 13th consecutive year of global decline in internet freedom, older forms of digital repression have continued to proliferate.
Iran suffered its worst score drop of the year as authorities shut down internet services and blocked social media to quell anti-government protests.
Countries such as China, Cuba, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Myanmar (formerly Burma) or Uzbekistan are among the territories whose Governments most apply traditional forms of online censorship.
Brazil was the only Portuguese-speaking country analyzed in this segment, with the report pointing out that it blocked 'websites' and forced the removal of 'online' content.
In relation to global freedom on the Internet, which decreased for the 13th consecutive year, the report classified Brazil and Angola, the only Portuguese-speaking countries analyzed, as “partially free”.
This category also includes countries such as Ukraine, Hungary, Mexico, India or Morocco.
In the total of 70 countries covered by the report, Freedom House identified 17 states as “free” – including France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, the United States or Canada -, 32 as “partially free” and 21 as “not free” – such as Russia, China, Iran, Myanmar, Venezuela or Cuba.
Freedom House indicated that as conditions deteriorated in 29 countries, they improved in another 20, even as attacks on freedom of expression became more common around the world.
“Freedom on the Net” is an annual study on human rights in the digital sphere. The project assesses Internet freedom in 70 countries, representing 88% of users worldwide. This report, the 13th in its series, covered developments between June 2022 and May 2023.
More than 85 analysts and consultants contributed to this year's edition, using a standard methodology to determine each country's Internet freedom score on a 100-point scale, with 21 separate indicators relating to barriers to access, content limits and violations of user rights.
