Abstract

This research examines the 'dirty politics' between opposing and antagonistic poles during Chile's 2021 presidential election. It analyses data from public messaging groups on WhatsApp, using computational methods, qualitative analysis, and an interview with a key informant from one of the candidates' campaigns. The results point to 'dirty' tactics, such as disinformation and social engineering, but also to technical sabotage, with deliberate obstruction of campaign groups, mainly from the right against the left.