The infographic spreading across the internet in the final days before Tuesday’s midterm elections is adorned with an American flag and resembles a public service announcement reminding people to vote.
But the message is not merely to cast a ballot, but how: “Use a blue ballpoint pen only when you vote!”
The meme, plastered across online platforms such as Twitter and the fast-growing messaging app Telegram, may be unintelligible to anyone not steeped in the misinformation and fearmongering fueled by reports of smeared ballots in Arizona’s Maricopa County during the state’s August primary.
But it illustrates how misinformation is operating in 2022. The message recycles key narratives from 2020, when President Donald Trump refused to concede and his allies spread baseless claims about election manipulation, including that the use of Sharpies to mark ballots caused them to be thrown out. The claims, though easily debunked, have proved remarkably durable, according to researchers and election officials.
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“2020 disinformation has never left,” said Jesse Littlewood, vice president for campaigns at Common Cause, a watchdog group conducting nonpartisan voter protection that includes monitoring and combating online disinformation. “It’s somewhat strategic because it’s easier to re-up an existing conspiracy theory and say, ‘They’re doing it again,’ than it is to manufacture a new one.”
But even if the claims feel familiar, the online ecosystem that facilitates the...
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