Claudia Sheinbaum, the favorite, has been targeted with demeaning comments about her appearance, credentials, and even her Jewish background and place of birth.

This week, a fake news audio clip of Sheinbaum admitting to campaign failures was shared on social media, aiming to undermine her candidacy.

In Mexico, the spread of election misinformation is a growing concern, fueled by distrust of the news media, violence from drug cartels, rapid social media usage, and lagging digital literacy.

Additionally, some political leaders deliberately spread disinformation.

This phenomenon is part of a larger trend of disinformation and hateful content spreading on the Internet and social media in democracies worldwide, potentially influencing election outcomes and warping public discourse.

In the upcoming Mexico City mayoral election, Claudia Sheinbaum of the Morena party is facing opposition from Xóchitl Gálvez and Jorge Álvarez Máynez.

Maria Calderon, an attorney and researcher from Mexico working with the Mexico Institute, has observed that attacks against female candidates like Sheinbaum and Gálvez often take a personal and gendered nature.

These attacks focus on their appearance and credentials, while misinformation about male candidates tends to revolve around policy proposals.

Mexican politician Claudia Calderon accused her opponents of sexist attacks against another female politician, Marcela Gálvez.

The attacks include criticisms of her weight, height, clothing, behavior, and speech.

Calderon attributed some of the sexism to Mexico's "machismo" culture and strong Catholic roots, as women only gained the right to vote in 1953.

President Lopez Obrador has spread false claims about Gálvez, and despite her efforts to correct the record, the misinformation continues to circulate.

Con artists have also used deepfake videos of another female politician, Zoé Robles Sheinbaum, to peddle investment scams.

A deepfake video of Mexican politician Claudia Sheinbaum spreading an investment scam went viral.

Tech companies, including Meta which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, have implemented programs and policies to combat misinformation ahead of elections.

However, there are criticisms that these efforts primarily focus on English content and use a "cookie-cutter" approach for the rest of the world.

Meta stated that they are committed to providing reliable election information and combating misinformation across languages.

Violence has been a persistent issue in Mexico's elections, with numerous candidates for smaller offices being killed or abducted by criminal gangs.

Drug cartels have added to the chaos by attacking campaign rallies with gunfire, burning ballots, and preventing polling places from being set up.

According to former President Calderon, this election has been the most violent one in Mexico's recorded history.