Midterms Are Coming: How to Discern Information From Manipulation

News Literacy Project: “This piece examines recent opinion polling about the public’s lack of confidence in our electoral process and finds that Democracy in the United States is in serious trouble. But it also takes stock of the many different ways we can solve this problem.”

NLP: “This article details the issue that more poll workers and poll challengers across the country are being worn down by falsehoods about how elections are run and a constant barrage of questions. Additionally, it outlines how worries are increasing that a growing number of conspiracy-minded people are operating in these positions—and the effect that could have on trust in U.S. elections.”

NLP: “Voters can protect themselves and their vote by following these five steps: Checking your emotions; being careful about what you share; spotting misinformation patterns; being alert for cheapfake and deepfake videos; and being skeptical but not cynical. Read on to learn more about these methods to push back against misinformation during the election season.”

NLP: “Newsy reporter Tyler Adkisson looks into the difficulties social media companies have in stopping the spread of election denial disinformation and the challenges live video misinformation adds to enforcing community standards policies, particularly during the midterm elections when voting is much more decentralized.”

NLP: “An analysis by members of the Election Integrity Partnership looked into how and why rumors spread. They found ten primary factors that allow rumors to take hold and offer guidance for how election officials might approach these concerns to diminish their impact on voters.”

NLP: “While voter fraud is rare, many voters continue to believe falsehoods about election fraud. Add in threats of violence toward election workers, citizen efforts to police the polls, and partisan social media posts about hot-button issues, and you have a smorgasbord of election misinformation that continues to mislead people.”

NLP: “This piece examines what the major social media companies are doing to prevent the spread of false election-related information on their platforms. But election experts are worried that the social platforms aren’t devoting enough resources to address the magnitude of the problem.”

NLP: “This report—as well as this one about Latino voters— shares a variety of examples of how communities of color are being targeted with conspiracy theories, misleading information, and distortions to cause confusion about issues and candidates.”

NLP: “Misinformation surrounding our electoral processes has created an existential threat to our democracy. But news literacy plays a crucial role in preparing us to be well-informed voters by helping us develop the skills needed to recognize false information about elections, candidates, and issues. And it empowers us to find authoritative and trustworthy sources. Resources on this page include upcoming webinars, PSA videos, an infographic, and more links to trustworthy sources of information on this topic.”