Analyzing Misinformation Claims During the 2022 Brazilian General Election on WhatsApp, Twitter, and Kwai

This study analyzes misinformation from WhatsApp, Twitter, and Kwai duringthe 2022 Brazilian general election. Given the democratic importance ofaccurate information during elections, multiple fact-checking organizationscollaborated to identify and respond to misinformation via WhatsApp tiplinesand power a fact-checking feature within a chatbot operated by Brazil'selection authority, the TSE. WhatsApp is installed on over 99% of smartphonesin Brazil, and the TSE chatbot was used by millions of citizens in the run-upto the elections. During the same period, we collected social media data fromTwitter (now X) and Kwai (a popular video-sharing app similar to TikTok). Usingthe WhatsApp, Kwai, and Twitter data along with fact-checks from threeBrazilian fact-checking organizations, we find unique claims on each platform.Even when the same claims are present on different platforms, they often differin format, detail, length, or other characteristics. Our research highlightsthe limitations of current claim matching algorithms to match claims acrossplatforms with such differences and identifies areas for further algorithmicdevelopment. Finally, we perform a descriptive analysis examining the formats(image, video, audio, text) and content themes of popular misinformationclaims.