Alan Miller: Don’t fall for falsehoods while votes are counted
Alan C. Miller, founder and CEO of the News Literacy Project, issued the following statement about the outcome of the election:
“The voters have spoken, and now it’s up to our state election officials to fairly count all the votes. As key states methodically complete the process of tallying their ballots, it’s vital that we do not let misinformation fill the void while we await the final count.
“We urge the news media, state officials and the general public to refrain from spreading or amplifying false or unverified information. In a contested election, facts matter more than ever. We must unite in support of a fair and transparent vote-counting process and rely on information from trusted and reliable news sources so that we have an accurate understanding of the process and ensure its validity.
“The news media must share only verified information and be transparent about what it knows and what it does not so that all Americans can be confident in its reporting as well as in the legitimacy of the election results.
“Ultimately, we believe every legal vote should be counted, and the result should determine how states award their presidential electors. As part of our mission to make all Americans more news-literate, we help to give students and the public the skills to become equal and engaged participants in a democracy. We hope that the election process will reward that engagement in 2020 with a full, fair and accurate tally.”