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Australia is weeks away from a referendum on whether to enshrine an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the constitution.
Republican debates are in full swing ahead of a presidential battle in the US, and globally, 70 elections will take place in the coming year.
At a time when misinformation is expected to be rife, social media giant 'X'- formerly Twitter- has scrapped its feature to flag fake news.
Professor of Information Sciences at RMIT, Lisa Given says the potential scale of the spread of misinformation this decision will enable is substantial.
"When people are bombarded with a lot of different messaging and particularly when incorrect information gets promoted, re-tweeted, shared by people who think that it's true, other people will take up that information as though it were true, it starts to take on a life of its own."
Ms Given says misinformation that originates on Social Media also has the power to permeate mainstream media.
"I think the power that we see is information's ability to very quickly spread like wildfire. We know that media for example, mainstream media, so something that your mother might be watching on the nightly news could be something that started out as a Twitter post. Information spreads very, very quickly, very rapidly. And so its potential to actually misinform even citizens who are not on these platforms is a critical factor here."
After introducing a feature in 2022 for users to report a post they considered misleading about politics, 'X' in the past week removed the "politics" category from its drop-down menu in every jurisdiction except the European Union. Users can still report violations like hate speech or promoting violence, but not disinformation.
Think tank 'Reset Australia' has published an open letter in response to the decision, calling it "extremely concerning" and "a disastrous time for Australia's electoral integrity."
It comes just days after the EU found the social media giant to be the biggest purveyor of fake news on social media, following a six month study.
European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova warned the company it would be monitored closely after these findings.
“'X'' Formerly Twitter is the platform with the largest ratio of misinformation or disinformation posts. My message for Twitter is you have to comply with the with the heart law and we will be watching what you are doing."]]
X left the EU's code of practice on Disinformation, but is obliged to comply with laws designed to combat fake news and Russian propaganda.”
Ms Given says the EU has made a clear statement on the cultural value it is placing on truth.
"Think the EU is definitely on the forefront of really trying to not just protect its citizens but actually speak for its citizens in terms of what people value. And we've certainly seen in times of war, especially in leads up to elections. Truthfulness becomes a critical part of how we engage as a society and who we trust."
The EU ultimately does have the power to sanction, or ban X.
Ms Given says she expects disinformation and misinformation will be at the heart of continuing conflict between major companies like 'X' and legislative bodies like the EU.
"What we're seeing is a bit of a power play at the minute between some of these big companies and now major legislators who actually have the power. You know, the EU is a very large organization. It is, you know, not something that can be easily dismissed, and they're going to be obviously using that power to protect their citizens."
Elon Musk has confirmed decommissioning the team working to prevent election disruption.
In his one-year tenure as CEO, Mr Musc has axed teams monitoring COVID-19 misinformation and human rights, and vowed to turn 'X' into a free speech platform.
Digital analysis says countries outside of the EU are also now watching closely for developments.
