Misinformation about Elections
Purpose: This page is produced by the LWVCC Task Force on Misinformation about Elections. TheTask Force has the goal of bolstering confidence in the democratic process by getting the facts out and educating the community about voting and elections. The purpose is to share accurate information widely, ideally before misinformation can take hold.
The resources on this page have been identified or produced by the Task Force. These are available for downloading and sharing. Also, input from the Task Force led to creating the Voting Q & A and Election Judges pages on this website.
The resources on this page have been identified or produced by the Task Force. These are available for downloading and sharing. Also, input from the Task Force led to creating the Voting Q & A and Election Judges pages on this website.
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This page is being updated. Please use the resources below and check back later this fall for changes. |
Tools You Can Use
Slides: Learn About Making a "Truth Sandwich"
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In an LWVCC session on practical strategies for determining facts vs misinformation, participants learned how to construct a "truth sandwich." Constructing a "truth sandwich" is a clever technique when you are responding to misinformation. See the link below to view/download a pdf of the slides on this topic.
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Graphics from LWV: Download and Use!
These graphics from the national League of Women Voters can be downloaded and used widely to spread the word about countering disinformation. Click the images to view/download.
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Use a Letter to the Editor to Counter Misinformation
Fact Checking Sources
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Presentations
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Webinar: Elections, Speech and Disinformation
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What are the leading proposals to combat election disinformation and are they consistent with the First Amendment? The National Constitution Center offered a free Webinar on this topic.
Speakers were Richard L. Hasen, leading election law expert and author of "Cheap Speech: How Disinformation Poisons Our Politics—and How to Cure It;" Sarah Isgur, staff writer at "The Dispatch" and co-host of the legal podcast "Advisory Opinions;" and Catherine Ross, free speech expert and author of "A Right to Lie? Presidents, Other Liars, and the First Amendment." |
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Video: Local Misinformation, Small Town Populists, and Platform Politics
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This topic was presented by Nikki Usher, Associate Professor of Journalism, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign on October 25, 2021 as part of a series on Conspiracy, Misinformation, and the Infodemic, offered by the Center for Advanced Study (CAS).
As the full impact of diminished legacy news becomes increasingly clear, platforms like Facebook have become the home page, front page, and bulletin board for civic life in communities—essential communication infrastructure. However, big tech platforms aren’t concerned with democracy, just profit. While much is known about how platforms enable misinformation spreading and hyper-partisanship at a national and international scale, far less is known about what happens at the local level. Using research from the PPLN-IL project [Platforms, Politics, and Local News in Illinois], this talk explores the challenges to combatting misinformation about COVID-19 on a local level. |
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The Big Lie and Big Tech
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On October 6, the Carter Center published this report that details the role played by “repeat offenders”—media known to repeatedly publish false and misleading information—in spreading election fraud narratives in online echo chambers during the 2020 election. A desciption of the report is available on the Carter Center's news release site. Or you can view or download the full report from the Carter Center using the link below.
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Lies and Consequences: How Journalism Can Be Saved in the Age of Misinformation
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This topic was presented by Professor Mira Sotirovic, Karin and Folke Dovring Scholar in Propaganda in the Department of Journalism at the University of Illinois, on October 6, 2021 as part of a series on Conspiracy, Misinformation, and the Infodemic, offered by the Center for Advanced Study (CAS).
Event Description: The torrent of false information and efforts to undermine the credibility of journalism and the news media as democratic institutions make journalistic commitments to accurate reporting more crucial and more challenging than ever before. The standard practice of debunking of misinformation might be more effective if accompanied with forging new relationships with audiences based on shared values, transparency and consistency. All news is biased to some extent, and journalism would serve the public better by openly examining those biases rather than denying them. |
Join the Task Force!
The Task Force is part of LWVCC's Voter Ready team. If you are interested in participating in these efforts, contact Karen [email protected] or Ann [email protected]
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A world without facts is a world without truth and trust.
Journalist Maria Ressa Recipient of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize |
