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Elections & Voting: Misinformation & Disinformation

A research guide supporting a state-wide initiative to educate MCC students, faculty, staff, and local community members about the election process.

Misinformation is false or inaccurate information that is spread regardless of the intent to mislead. 

In a survey conducted in 2016, 64% of adults said that fake news had caused a great deal of confusion about the basic facts of current issues and events, while 23% said they themselves have shared a made-up news story online. In the United States, 93% of adults get at least some of that news online, either via mobile or desktop applications. Social media are a key driver of traffic to news sites, with Facebook leading the way.

Source: Pew Research Center

Disinformation is false or misleading information that is spread deliberately with the intent to deceive. The goal of sharing false information is to influence others by deceiving them or actively trying to manipulate them.

 

 

Here are some questions and suggestions to consider to help slow the spread of misleading information

  • Be critical of sensational or scandalous political information, especially information released close to election day. See if the same story appears in trust-worthy media outlets or has been fact-checked. Disinformation is most effective on hot-button issues.
  • Practice emotional skepticism. Does the information hit an emotional trigger in you? This can sometimes be a signal that someone is trying to manipulate your emotions. Pause to figure out why you're responding that way.
  • Check multiple sources about a story.
  • Think before you share. When you share content without verifying its accuracy, you contribute to misinformation.
  • Get your information about how to vote from your local government or a trust-worthy source rather than social media. Voter suppression, negative changes to voting laws, and scandal tactics have been used to discourage citizens from voting.
  • Check your own bias (this is called confirmation bias - the tendency to look for, or interpret information, that confirms or supports one's preexisting beliefs). Seek out the other sides of a story to challenge your beliefs (use the Media Bias Chart to see publications that offer differing perspectives).
  • Watch out for deepfakes, especially in images. 
  • Investigate and verify the accuracy and credibility of  what you're reading and seeing