All articles tagged with #election misinformation
Heather Honey, known for denying the 2020 election results and promoting conspiracy theories, has been appointed to a senior role at the Department of Homeland Security to oversee election infrastructure, raising concerns about trust and misinformation in election security efforts.
In Georgia, internal conflicts within the Republican Party are exacerbating the spread of election misinformation, with conservatives distrusting state election officials like Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who has been vocal against false claims. Despite efforts to debunk misinformation, skepticism persists, particularly in key areas like Atlanta, which are crucial for upcoming elections. The situation is further complicated by legal challenges and false social media narratives, highlighting the ongoing struggle to maintain election integrity in the state.
Former President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., are promoting legislation to stop noncitizen voting in federal elections, despite it already being illegal. Experts warn that the proposed citizenship documentation requirements could make voting harder for eligible voters, such as naturalized citizens and young voters. While studies show that noncitizen voting is extremely rare, conservative lawmakers continue to push unfounded narratives about noncitizens influencing elections, with some states enacting laws to identify and remove noncitizens from voter rolls. However, evidence suggests that noncitizens rarely attempt to register to vote, and even in places where they are allowed to vote in local elections, they often choose not to due to the potential risks to their immigration status.
As election misinformation continues to pose a threat, concerns are raised about the lack of safeguards for non-English speakers and smaller countries. Tech companies are criticized for their bias towards English and western democracies, with recent changes exacerbating the situation. This has created opportunities for disinformation targeting non-English speakers, impacting elections in countries like the U.S., India, and Africa. While tech companies have made efforts to address misinformation, their focus on the U.S. and E.U. has left other regions neglected, increasing the risk of misleading voters and impacting election results. Fact-checking organizations have emerged as a defense against viral misinformation, but more concerted efforts are needed to combat the proliferation of election-related disinformation.
Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and other tech companies have joined forces to combat AI misinformation, particularly deepfakes, ahead of the 2024 elections. The rise of AI-generated content has led to serious concerns about election-related misinformation, with the number of deepfakes increasing significantly. The companies have made eight high-level commitments, including assessing model risks and addressing the distribution of such content on their platforms, in an effort to protect people and societies from the amplified risks of AI-generated deceptive content.
OpenAI updates its policies to combat election misinformation by forbidding the use of its tools for impersonating candidates or local governments, campaigning, lobbying, or misrepresenting the voting process. It plans to incorporate digital credentials into images generated by Dall-E to combat misinformation. Additionally, OpenAI's tools will direct voting questions in the U.S. to CanIVote.org. However, the effectiveness of these measures remains uncertain, and users are encouraged to continue practicing media literacy to combat misinformation.
Microsoft's AI chatbot, Copilot, has been found to respond to political queries with conspiracies, misinformation, and outdated or incorrect information. The chatbot, based on OpenAI's GPT-4, consistently shared inaccurate information about elections in Switzerland and Germany, including wrong polling numbers, election dates, candidates, and made-up controversies. Researchers found that a third of Copilot's answers contained factual errors, making it an unreliable source of information for voters. Despite some improvements made by Microsoft, the issues of election misinformation remain, highlighting the systemic problem. The findings raise concerns about the potential threats posed by generative AI tools in spreading disinformation during high-profile elections.
European regulator Thierry Breton has sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, urging him to be vigilant in removing disinformation on Meta's platforms during the Israel-Hamas conflict and upcoming elections. Breton highlighted an increase in illegal content and disinformation following the Hamas attack on Israel. Under the EU's Digital Services Act, Meta is responsible for monitoring and removing illegal content, with potential fines of 6% of annual revenue for non-compliance. Breton also sent a similar letter to Elon Musk, warning about misinformation on X.
Wisconsin Republicans are seeking to remove Meagan Wolfe, the nonpartisan administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, ahead of the upcoming presidential primary, sparking concerns about the integrity of future elections. Democrats argue that Republicans are targeting Wolfe in retaliation for decisions made by the commission in 2020. The dispute highlights the lingering impact of election misinformation in the swing state, with former President Donald Trump potentially on the ticket again in 2024. The fight over Wolfe's position is likely to end up in court, as Democrats argue that legislative Republicans lack the authority to vote on her removal.
Stephen Richer, a Republican election official in Arizona's Maricopa County, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Kari Lake, a former TV newscaster and Republican candidate for governor who has spread false claims of election fraud. Richer alleges that Lake falsely accused him of sabotaging the election to prevent Republican candidates from winning. Lake has also been accused of falsely claiming that Richer inserted 300,000 "phony" early-voting ballots into the Maricopa County system. Richer's complaint claims that Lake continued making the false claims weeks after a court found that she provided "nothing more than 'speculation' and 'conjecture' to support her claims of intentional misconduct."
A Fox Corporation shareholder has sued Rupert Murdoch, his son Lachlan, and other directors on the company’s board over claims they allowed Fox News to spread lies about the 2020 presidential election. The plaintiff argues that the board violated its fiduciary duty to the company by promoting false stolen election claims,
Fox News and Dominion will face off in a Delaware courtroom in the latest phase of Dominion's $1.6bn defamation suit against the media company for spreading election lies. The case has attracted much attention because it represents one of the most aggressive efforts to hold any party accountable for spreading election misinformation in the United States. Both sides will be making their case to a judge to rule in their favor ahead of a trial scheduled in mid-April.