News Literacy Project comments on misinformation targeting Latino voters for New York Times report
Latino voting rights groups are fighting rumors and disinformation designed to sow distrust in the U.S. election. The News Literacy Project’s Peter Adams, Senior Vice President of Research and Design, notes one trend shown in NLP’s election misinformation dashboard: falsehoods that link Vice President Kamala Harris with communism.
Read the New York Times story here. Visit the News Literacy Project’s Misinformation Dashboard: Election 2024 here. Read more about the election misinformation trends NLP is tracking here.
AFP story shows how satire can cross into misinformation
Satirical posts online can spread out of context and fool people into thinking the joking claims are real, the News Literacy Project told the AFP for a recent story that examined this trend being used to spread election misinformation. Says NLP’s Hannah Covington, Senior Director of Education Content: “People who aren’t in on the joke take it at face value.”
The News Literacy Project has been tracking election-related rumors and the tactics being used to spread falsehoods in its Misinformation Dashboard: Election 2024.
Read the AFP article on Yahoo News here. Read more about the misinformation trends NLP is tracking here.
NBC’s Morning News Now spotlights the need for news literacy during election season
Fake celebrity endorsements, video clips taken out of context, rumors that start small and end up spreading worldwide: In an on-camera interview, the News Literacy Project’s Peter Adams, Senior Vice President of Research and Design, focuses on the need to identify and resist election-related falsehoods. Adams points to NLP’s Misinformation Dashboard: Election 2024, which is full of examples of rumors swirling around the candidates and voting, and suggests that people turn to standards-based news sources to verify what they see.
Watch the NBC news clip here. Visit the News Literacy Project’s Misinformation Dashboard: Election 2024 here. Read more about the election misinformation trends NLP is tracking here.
Our election misinformation ads
At NLP, we believe that news literacy is essential for a functioning democracy. We know that foreign and domestic adversaries have polluted our information ecosystem to cause confusion, turn us against each other and hinder our ability to make well-informed decisions about candidates and issues. Our election misinformation campaigns help people learn how to tell fact from fiction. They’re not about what to think, but about how to think about the news and information we encounter.
As part of our 2022 election misinformation campaign, we created a public service announcement (PSA) to help people find our resources and credible sources of news and information. The TV ads refer to Election Day, Nov. 8, 2022. They do not contain current information for elections this year or in 2024. We asked stations to cease airing the ads last year, after Election Day. However, we recently become aware that some TV networks have continued to air them. We are doing everything we can to have the ads taken off the air while we update them.
Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletters for updates about our 2024 election misinformation campaign, including a new PSA to help voters stay informed.
More election resources to help you stay informed, not misled
We’re just a couple of weeks from Election Day. In many states, early and mail-in voting is already underway. We have created a few more resources to help you stay informed – not misled – as we enter the final stretch of election season. Be sure to check out NLP’s original Election 2022 page, where you’ll find videos, infographics and more to help you avoid election misinformation.
Infographic: Three types of election rumors to avoid
Bad actors push election disinformation designed to cause confusion and undermine confidence in American democracy. The same false claims tend to get recycled year after year, which can make them easier to spot.
We created this infographic that breaks down false “ballot mule” accusations as well as rumors about poll workers and mail-in voting. We’ve also included tools and tips for protecting yourself against these and similar bogus election claims with links to credible sources.
Download the digital version here (perfect for linking in an email or on social media).
Download the print version here (perfect for in-person discussions or teaching events ahead of the election or giving to a family member who prefers to read it on paper).
Partner blog: Prep for the U.S. midterm elections with these online tools
We’ve partnered with Mozilla to help people prepare to vote in the midterms.
“As an organization that advocates for a healthy internet, we consider online misinformation to be a huge barrier to seeing that better internet,” Mozilla writes. The post also has information about how to check your voter registration and what’s on your ballot. Read it here.
We recently curated a Pocket collection of must-reads ahead of the election. We explore what’s being done and what still needs to be addressed to ensure the integrity of our elections. Check it out here.
More expert videos: Protecting yourself from disinformation
We talked with Bret Schafer, a senior fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy, about his work tracking online conversations about the election. He explained how foreign actors are interfering in the American electoral process by exploiting divisive topics to sow domestic discord.
“They’re not trying to insert something new into a conversation that Americans aren’t already talking about,” he said.
Schafer also offered tips for protecting yourself against election misinformation that spreads on social media.
“Go to multiple trusted sources, and that’s usually the best way to defend yourself,” he said.
Schafer was one of four experts we spoke to ahead of the midterms who helped us understand the common types of election misinformation to watch out for and how to protect ourselves from it.
The final weeks before Election Day can be overwhelming with political advertising at full pitch and lots of information flying around. Our resources to help you prepare to vote are always available at newslit.org/election2022.
When, where and how do I vote? Get the facts from reliable sources.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8. Now is the time to make sure you have the facts about when, where and how to vote. When you search for information about the midterm elections, make sure you’re referencing reliable sources.
As part of the News Literacy Project’s campaign to help voters be informed – not misled – during election season, we spoke to several experts about how to avoid falling for common types of misinformation during the midterms.
“One classic example of misinformation is when to vote,” Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, a fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice and a law professor at Stetson University College of Law, told us. “So, typically we have elections on Tuesdays in America, but if you are targeting a certain group of voters with misinformation, the classic thing to tell them is that the election is on Wednesday.”
Atiba Ellis, a professor at the Marquette University Law School, told us that disinformation tactics regularly have been used in previous elections regarding how and when to vote.
“Flyers that say, ‘Election Day has been postponed for a week,’ or robocalls that inform voters that ‘Republicans vote on Tuesday, but Democrats vote on Wednesday,’ all of these things are forms of misinformation,” he said.
Torres-Spelliscy said the most reliable sources for information about upcoming elections are the officials who actually run them.
“If you have a question about when voting hours are or what types of mail-in ballots are accepted, then the soundest place to find that information is one of those sources from the elections officials that actually run elections,” she said.
The National Association of State Election Directors is the professional organization for the civil servants responsible for administering elections in every U.S. state and territory and the District of Columbia. It has a webpage where voters can find trustworthy links to information in their state, directly from the officials in charge of carrying out the election.
“Every state has information in terms of how Election Day is supposed to run,” Ellis said. “Probably most importantly, to verify that you are properly registered and you know where, when and how to cast your own ballot, check with the government as opposed to falling for anything that you hear over the internet,” he said.
States and territories have different deadlines for registering to vote, so check your registration now.
The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan grassroots organization that encourages voter participation for all, put together a resource hub at vote411.org. There, you can verify that you’re registered to vote and find out what’s on your ballot.
And when it comes to avoiding misinformation, NLP’s 2022 election page is a virtual toolbox designed to help you spot misinformation and stop its spread. Be sure to sign up for our webinars, whichteach you how to find information from credible sources, spot election misinformation and engage in meaningful conversation with those who have fallen for it.