AI-DRIVEN DISINFORMATION AS A GLOBAL CYBERSECURITY THREAT TO DEMOCRATIC SYSTEMS

Abstract

The proliferation of generative artificial intelligence has fundamentally transformed our current information landscape, facilitating the widespread production and consumption of photorealistic yet fictitious media. So, misinformation is no longer just a communication issue; it is an absolute cybersecurity threat, especially for democracies that depend on trust, transparency, and an informed public. This paper views AI-fueled disinformation as a cognitive cyber-attack aimed at modifying perceptions, shaping belief formation, and undermining the legitimacy of institutions, rather than solely targeting technical systems. Based on literature in cybersecurity, political communication, and AI governance, the research investigates how generative AI augments disinformation, which systemic failures in democracies it exploits, and why current interventions fall short. The results, he says, are that AI-supported disinformation damages public trust, increases social and political fragmentation, and distorts electoral and governmental processes in ways that are often hard to detect and even harder to put right. The research suggests expanding existing cybersecurity strategies to protect democracies in the age of generative AI by considering not only information integrity and cognitive security but also societal resilience to disinformation and propaganda, as well as technical protections.