CURRENT ENGLISH

2024 to be biggest ever year for voting in elections
4th January 2024

Easier

Journalists are worried about how free andfair many elections will be. The website
Bloomberg.com has already posed aquestion that is on the lips of many people.
It asked: "Will 2024 be the year fake news
destroys democracy?" Bloomberg said bad
actors will use artificial intelligence tochange the way people vote via phoneynews articles. It said there will be "a storm of
disinformation and digital manipulation
unlike anything the world has ever seen". It
added that disinformation has already begun
to spread, and that this "gets harder to spot
as fake with every passing month". Fact
checkers will have to work extra hard toreduce the number of AI-based posts onsocial media.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC
BY-NC

The year 2024 will be the biggest ever year
for voting. National elections will take placein around 64 countries, as well as in theEuropean Union. An estimated two billion
people - almost half the global population could vote at some time this year. The
results of these polls will bring big changes
for the future of many people. Voters in theworld's four largest electoral blocs - the EU,India, Indonesia and the USA - will be casting
their votes. One of the first contests will bein Taiwan on January the 13th. For much of
the year, eyes will be focused on events inthe US. In November, there will be a repeatof the 2020 election if Donald Trump runs for
President again.

Sources: time.com / bloomberg.com
koreaherald.com / breakingnewsenglish.com/DISCUSS“Everyone should vote in elections.” Do you

agree or disagree? Why (not)?

1CURRENT ENGLISHDISCUSS MORE

True / False

1) What do you think of elections?

1. About 64 countries will hold national
elections in 2024. T / F
2. A maximum of one billion people
could vote in elections this year. T / F
3. Voters in the world's five largest
voting blocs will vote. T / F
4. The first country that will holdelections in 2024 is Malaysia. T / F
5. A website asked a question that is on
many people's lips. T / F
6. The website said phoney articles will
influence the way people vote. T / F
7. The website said disinformation isalready spreading. T / F
8. Fact checkers have gone on strike
due to too many fake news stories.
T/F

2) Why is voting important?
3) Why are free and fair elections
important?
4) How might the lives of people change
because of the elections?
5) What do you think of fake news?
6) What does fake news do for
democracy?
7) How much do you believe what you
read online?
8) How do you think the U.S. election
will go?
9) What would you do if you wereleader of your country??

Synonym Match10) What questions would you like to ask
your country's leader?

(The words in bold are from the newsarticle.)
1. take placea. fixed

2. estimatedb. put forward

3. votec. see

4. focused
5. repeat
6. worried
7. posed
8. phoney
9. spot

Speaking – Losing Weight
What do you think will change for thepositive? Rank these items from 1 (top) to10 (bottom).

d. go to the polls___ Migratione. fake___ Global poverty

f. rerung. happen___ Equality

h. cut___ The economyi.

approximate___ Global warmingj.

concerned___ World peace

10. reduce___ Artificial Intelligence___ Healthcare2