Election-Year Misinformation

Recently I spent a lot of time talking to Jon Spayde, who wrote a really wonderful story for the Carleton Voice, the alumni magazine for Carleton College. Jon’s story, “Deciphering Deception: Navigating Election-Year Disinformation and Conspiracy” outlines the research of a number of Carleton faculty and alumni on this topic.

I think the most notable quote in the story is one of mine that is highlighted towards the end of the story. “Don’t trust social media. We’ve been saying that for decades, right? And I don’t know why we have to keep repeating it.” That sums up a central theme of my comments about how to avoid falling prey to misinformation and disinformation in this election season: don’t trust what you read online. Become a better consumer of political information. Be skeptical about what you read. Don’t share links to materials that you haven’t read or don’t think are credible (even in jest).

Political disinformation and misinformation is a serious problem and we all bear some responsibility for making sure that falsehoods do not spread widely during this important election season.