Neo-Nazis using AI | Shielding sources

In anticipation of a barrage of misinformation on Election Day and beyond, national news organizations are making extra preparations to counter it. NBC News added a team of correspondents to monitor vote-counting in pivotal counties, CBS News will have its new fact-checking and misinformation unit working, and The Associated Press has hired reporters to explain its decisions as it calls election results. “We live in an environment where misinformation travels really fast, and we understand that the public is confused,” AP Executive Editor Julie Pace told The New York Times.

In a recent Axios/Harris poll of 2,122 American adults, more than half (54%) said they disengaged from politics because they couldn’t tell what was true. Respondents also said that “politicians spreading misinformation” was their top concern — indicating a lack of trust among voters.

• Discuss: How do news organizations determine election results? How do they decide when to “call” a state — or the election — for a candidate? What are some causes of election misinformation? Do you agree election-related misinformation poses a threat to democracy? Why or why not?
• Resources:
  • “Misinformation” (NLP’s Checkology® virtual classroom). 
  • Infographics: “In brief: Misinformation” / “En Breve: Información Falsa” (NLP’s Resource Library).
• Related: 
  • “Disinformation vs misinformation: How to spot fake news on the internet, social media” (Marley Malenfant, Austin American-Statesman). 
  • “Misinformation running rampant on Facebook has officials concerned about election disruptions” (Jonathan Vanian, CNBC).
  • “U.S. officials say Russia is embracing AI for its election influence efforts” (Shannon Bond, NPR).

Mississippi Today reporter Anna Wolfe faces jailtime or fines if she doesn’t reveal her reporting sources to a state court after former Gov. Phil Bryant sued her, her editor and her nonprofit local news outlet for defamation. Wolfe’s Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting exposed how Bryant used his office to divert millions of state welfare dollars to benefit friends — including famed NFL quarterback Brett Favre. Wolfe and her editor have refused to provide notes and source information, citing reporter’s privilege under the First Amendment “that protects reporters from being forced to give up confidential sources,” ESPN reported. However, Mississippi doesn’t have a formal shield law in place, and it’s unclear if Wolfe and her sources would be protected. First Amendment advocates say without shield laws, whistleblowers are less likely to come forward.

The lawsuit was filed after Mississippi Today CEO Mary Margaret White erroneously said at a national conference that Bryant embezzled funds — an inaccuracy that was not part of Wolfe’s reporting.

• Discuss: Why do news organizations sometimes allow sources who give them important information to go unnamed in their reporting? If you worked in a government office and had evidence of criminal misuse of public funds, would you leak the story to a journalist? Why or why not? Should people who leak such evidence be protected by news organizations? If the government punishes journalists for their reporting, what impact might it have on democracy?
• Idea: Use the “Press freedom” slide in Week 4 of the Daily Do Now resource for students to think more about this issue.
• Another idea: Have students use this Dig Deeper think sheet to take notes on the landmark First Amendment case, New York Times v. Sullivan, which established that libel lawsuits must prove “actual malice” to win. 
• Resources:
  • “The First Amendment,” “Democracy’s Watchdog” and “Press Freedoms Around the World” (Checkology virtual classroom). 
  • Infographic: “The First Amendment” (NLP’s Resource Library).
• Related:
  • “An Oregon paper was repeatedly denied public records. Its fight for transparency ended in a major victory.” (Nicole Slaughter Graham, Poynter).
  • “For the first time, Hong Kong imprisons a journalist for sedition” (Shibani Mahtani, The Washington Post).