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With every major U.S. election cycle, disinformation takes center stage once again, sowing confusion and eroding trust in democratic processes. This trend is far from surprising: the Global Risks Report from the World Economic Forum estimates that disinformation will be one of humanity's greatest threats over the next two years.
Rumors and falsehoods circulating on social media, often spread by politicians and influential figures, have become a problem of unprecedented scale — nearly six new false claims about the election have emerged each week since late August, according to the Election Disinformation Tracking Center at NewsGuard.
Many of these narratives are not new. Sources of disinformation often recycle and adapt to current context unfounded claims about fraud, the integrity of mail-in voting, and other baseless narratives. To avoid misinformation, the most important thing is what it is about.
Common False Narratives: Voting Machines
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In Texas, a persistent rumor suggests that electronic voting machines switch votes between Democrat and Republican candidates. In 2022, it was confirmed that this is false. While some touch screens can be challenging to use and may lead to accidental selections, officials and security experts explain that this does not indicate an intentional vote change.
Voting...
Allegations of stolen valor and professional misrepresentation have surfaced against Cocoa resident Gary Farmer Jr. (also known as Alden Farmer, Alden Farmer Jr., Gary Farmer, and Gary Farmer Jr.)....