Study Finds Mainstream AI Chatbots Have Near 40% Error Rate in US Election Q&A
Research by Forum AI and NewsGuard reveals significant factual errors and partisan source bias in ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini when answering questions about the US midterms.
According to WIRED, independent research firm Forum AI found that nearly 40% of answers provided by mainstream AI chatbots—including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, and Google’s Gemini—contained at least one factual error when responding to questions about the US midterm elections. For instance, Gemini incorrectly stated the mail-in ballot deadline for Pennsylvania, and Claude confused North Carolina Congressman Don Davis with a former school superintendent of the same name.
Research by NewsGuard further indicated that these models frequently cite “pink slime” websites—low-quality sources funded by political or ideological groups but presenting as mainstream news—when asked about candidates and policies. ChatGPT cited such sites in more than 70% of cases, while xAI’s Grok performed better with a 30% rate.
Pew Research data shows that approximately 8% of US adults used AI tools to find information on candidates and policies ahead of the midterms. Despite OpenAI publishing election safety guidelines, the findings highlight significant reliability risks in current AI technology when handling real-time, complex political facts, potentially misleading voter decision-making.