As voters seek information on candidates, they are inundated with misinformation (false or inaccurate information) and disinformation (false information deliberately intended to harm and mislead).
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon calls disinformation “the conscious spread of knowingly false information” which shouldn’t be confused with political “disagreement.”
When weaponized, Simon said it can incite violence and pose a threat to the integrity of elections, the backbone of a healthy democracy.
He’s referring not just to Jan. 6, but to the ongoing targeting of election workers.
Today nearly 100 percent of the public receives news online, much of it from social media and other completely unregulated sources of information.
The American Psychological Association (APA) warns that the massive reach of unregulated “news” has resulted in distrust of the news media and also by extension, other trusted institutions, such as government and scientific institutions.
Rampant disinformation has led to a decline in interpersonal trust which ultimately affects our local communities and personal relationships.
We retreat to our “bubbles” reinforcing our beliefs, whether they are true or false.
Simon points out that the amplifiers in language – calling people “vermin” and claiming that elections are “rigged, fixed and stolen” – only exacerbate our sense of doubt and suspicion.
To combat disinformation before it spreads, we can adopt proactive strategies.
•Early identification and debunking of false information, with credible fact checking, reduces its potential to be widely spread and normalized.
•Promoting media literacy – the ability to access, analyze, and evaluate – is crucial to understanding when messages are influenced by corporate media and outside influencers. Media literacy also helps us to recognize when we’re being emotionally manipulated.
American think tank Brookings suggests we all need to take responsibility for a positive, truthful, democratic path forward.
“Government should promote news literacy and strong professional journalism,” Brookings writes.
“The news industry must provide high-quality journalism in order to build public trust and correct fake news and disinformation. Technology companies should invest in tools that identify fake news, reduce financial incentives for those who profit from disinformation, and improve online accountability.”
Brookings further asserts that educational institutions should make it a priority to inform people about news literacy, and individuals should follow a diversity of news sources and be skeptical of what they read and watch.
In the short term, Secretary Simon says there are three things we can take responsibility for to protect our elections:
1) Tell the truth.
2) Use empathy with people who are duped into believing untruths.
3) Be transparent about how the system works – “show don’t tell.”
As voters seek information to make voting decisions, they need to have tools to identify the disinformation and to ultimately feel confident in the choices they make.
