Generative AI and Disinformation| (Generative) AI and Disinformation—Introduction

Abstract

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) represents a pivotal development in the contemporary information ecosystem. Large Language and Image Models now enable rapid and scalable creation of (hyper)realistic yet synthetic content. As these models become more accessible and sophisticated, so too do their capacities to distort public discourse, manipulate perceptions, and undermine trust in democratic institutions. At the same time, these technologies offer promising tools for detection, resilience building, and possibly countering falsehoods. As such, there is rapid global and cross-disciplinary interest in understanding how AI-driven tools have added another dimension to the existing challenge of disinformation. This Special Section brings together timely and original scholarship on this challenge, with the aim to explore the multifaceted role of AI, including how it can both contribute to, as well as potentially provide solutions to, the problem of disinformation.