Home > 1.3.1.1 Media > Report on freedom of expression, prohibition of hate speech and promotion of pluralism in the context of electoral campaigns
 
 
 
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Strategies such as the use of bots (automated accounts) amplify divisive messages, and micro-segmentation (microtargeting) in political advertising makes it possible to direct false ads or content at specific groups of voters likely to accept them. A major challenge is the speed and scale of disinformation: debunking a complex false story may require hours or days of journalistic investigation, while creating and spreading such a hoax takes minutes and can be replicated thousands of times in different languages. This time gap benefits malicious actors. The Court thus accepted that the Internet was a distinct information tool from the printed media and that the risk of harm posed by the content and by communications on the Internet was much higher than that posed by the press. Consequently, the policies governing the reproduction of material from the printed media, and the Internet might be different.