Democracy is a collective achievement and 2024 has been called its biggest year. Eight of the 10 most populous countries in the world will hold elections in 2024. But the process will face challenges, perceived and unperceived.

Around 1.5 billion people globally will be exercising their right to vote. With internet disinformation campaigns, fake news, the impact of AI, social media echo chambers, just how safe is our democratic process, and how can we make it more secure?

Our three guests, who all received funding for their research from the EU, are here to tell us what they are doing to meet the challenges facing democracy in the 21st Century: Working out how trust and distrust are generated, understanding the mechanisms that allow for the rise of far-right populism, and using machine learning to determine when disinformation can tip from internet chat into real life threat.