Social Media and Politics Around the World: Navigating the Era of <scp>AI</scp> ‐Generated Content

ABSTRACT Social media has become a pivotal component of politics and elections across worldwide. Understanding social media and politics requires a comprehensive grasp of the underlying social and technical layers, including language, culture, and the country's information policies. More recently, AI‐generated content is changing the social media ecosystem by inundating the platform with potentially persuasive content with higher user engagement that is tailored to personal interests. As an ongoing effort of the SIG social media panel series, this panel invites social media researchers to present diverse perspectives of social media and politics by introducing multiple case studies around the world. The discussion aims to inform information practitioners and researchers about promoting healthy social media ecosystem, shaping future agendas in digital literacy, and regulating AI and social media. By showcasing cases from diverse countries, the information science community can foster new global collaboration opportunities, share best practices, and develop standards to address these challenges collectively. This panel is sponsored by SIG SM and IEP.