Oct. 29: Election misinformation flourishes

This is a shortened version of Get Smart About News, a free weekly newsletter that explores trends and issues in misinformation, social media, artificial intelligence and journalism. Subscribe HERE.

Top story of the week

Election misinformation flourishes

In the final days ahead of the U.S. presidential election, conspiracy theories and false claims about voting machines, election fraud, noncitizens voting and the candidates themselves have surged. One election official told The Associated Press that countering election misinformation was “like playing whack-a-mole with truth.”

Election mis- and disinformation comes from a variety of sources, including some politicians, social media posts and foreign influence campaigns. X owner Elon Musk has repeatedly shared falsehoods about 2020 election fraud and content from Tenet Media — a news outlet that federal prosecutors say used $10 million in laundered funds from Russian operatives.

Engage:

Even teens too young to vote are still likely to see election news on their social media feeds or in school. Share this NLP blog post, “Track the trends: Candidate fitness and election integrity rank high in rumors,” with a young person in your life and discuss common election misinformation trends with them.

Related:

• ”‘Firehose’ of election conspiracy theories floods final days of the campaign” (Matt Vasilogambros, Stateline).?
• “Microsoft Warns Foreign Disinformation Is Hitting the US Election From All Directions” (Lily Hay Newman, Wired).?
• “AI is already making it easier to spread election lies” (Sam Sabin, Axios).

RumorGuard post of the week

NLP created RumorGuard to fact-check viral rumors and help you build news literacy skills. Sign up to push back against misinformation HERE.

Dominion Voting’s logo altered to spread election fraud claims

? NO: This is not Dominion Voting’s genuine logo or slogan.

? YES: Dominion Voting’s slogan is “Accurate. Reliable. Transparent.”

★ NewsLit takeaway

Dominion Voting Systems has long been a target of those who spread misinformation. This altered logo, for example, first circulated during the 2020 presidential election and continues to spread online now, with new unfounded claims of election fraud. During election season, keep in mind:

1. Sensational claims deserve extra scrutiny. Visit the Dominion Voting website or search for credible news reports to find important context.
2. While claims of election fraud are common online, evidence shows it’s rare and typically involves individual voters, not companies or election officials.
3. Partisan sources share partisan information. Remember to check sources and consider if they are trustworthy.

Kickers of the week

? The Washington Post is not making a presidential endorsement for the first time since the 1980s. Its newsroom — which operates separately from its editorial board — reported that the decision was made by the paper’s owner and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Similarly, California’s largest newspaper, the Los Angeles Times, was also allegedly blocked by its owner from making a presidential endorsement in this year’s election. As a result, editorial?staff resigned?at both papers and The Post had 200,000 canceled subscriptions.??

? You’ve likely seen the work of a “clipper” — someone who watches hours of campaign events and newscasts looking for attention-grabbing clips to go viral on social media. Video clipping has become a more prominent factor this election season as audiences continue to move online, according to CNN’s Brian Stelter.

One last thing...

This is a short version of our Get Smart About News email. To get more top stories, more RumorGuard posts and more Kickers, subscribe to our Tuesday email HERE.

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