Courts as Knowledge Institutions: Safeguarding Democracy Against Electoral Disinformation

In recent years, disinformation has become one of the most disruptive factors for the integrity of electoral processes worldwide. Cases in Brazil, Romania and the United States show how large-scale manipulation of information, hybrid tactics and opaque funding can distort the formation of public opinion well before election day, eroding citizens’ ability to make free and informed choices. Courts have increasingly been called upon to address these threats. From the Brazilian Superior Electoral Tribunal’s injunctions against coordinated disinformation campaigns, to the Romanian Constitutional Court’s decision annulling a presidential ballot after serious breaches of fair-information standards, to litigation in the United States concerning alleged governmental and private pressure on social media platforms, courts are increasingly called upon as key actors in the informational dimension of democracy. Yet their interventions are often reactive and fragmented, raising the question of whether judicial tools alone can effectively secure the pre-electoral space. This paper argues for a broader constitutional perspective that recognises the contribution of knowledge institutions – universities, independent research centres, investigative journalism, fact-checking and watchdog organisations – as part of the constitutional infrastructure protecting electoral integrity. By producing and validating reliable evidence, these intermediaries help citizens and courts distinguish genuine claims from manipulative narratives, supporting a disciplined and informed public debate. However, they are facing increasing challenges: in the United States through congressional inquiries and litigation targeting disinformation researchers under the label of the so-called censorship-industrial complex; in Hungary through bills stigmatising foreign-funded civil society and fact-checking outlets; and in many countries through the misuse of “anti-fake news” laws against journalists. The paper examines the complementary role of knowledge institutions in supporting courts’ efforts to safeguard electoral integrity, highlighting the importance of their independence for informed judicial decision-making and resilient democracies.