Election misinformation can mislead Kansas voters. How to spot it & find your own facts
Editor’s note: This article is part of U.S. Democracy Day, a nationwide collaboration on Sept. 15, the International Day of Democracy, in which news organizations cover how democracy works and the threats it faces. To learn more, visit usdemocracyday.org.
Voters will take to the polls in less than two months for the 2024 election, casting votes not only on the presidency, but also in state and local elections.
In Sedgwick County, you will see some Kansas Legislature seats appear on the ballot, as well as a county commission seat.
Election season is an important time of year to make sure you’re getting your information from a credible source, especially with the growing popularity of artificial intelligence.
Misinformation can come to voters in many forms — mailers, text messages, emails, social media posts and phone calls, just to name a few. Making informed decisions can become complicated when faced with so much information coming at you at so many different angles.
Here are some quick tips and tricks to navigating information when researching this election season.
Consider the information’s source
The most important skill to have during election season is having a skeptical eye, said Alexandra Middlewood, chair of the political science department at Wichita State University.
“Skepticism goes a long way, especially in an election season when misinformation is rampant,” Middlewood said.
She said the first step to spotting possible false information is to consider the source of the information. Is it coming from a purely factual source, or a source with known biases and a specific message to spread?
“Regardless of which party or even if it is an organization that’s not directly affiliated with a political party, consider the source, because they are going to have their own biases,” Middlewood said.
If you’ve never heard of the organization or the author, Middlewood recommends to look into the source with a set of questions: “Are they credible? Are they real?”
“You know, read beyond just what the mailer or the social media post says,” she said.
Check the language of the information
Middlewood said oftentimes disinformation is spread by taking advantage of peoples’ emotions. Examining a post or a mailer and checking it for biased or divisive language can help finding out what the post’s purpose is.
By definition, misinformation is information that’s false or inaccurate. Disinformation is false information that’s intentionally spread to mislead.
“Anything that speaks in absolutes, I would say is like the number one, the number one thing to look for, especially when those are emotionally charged and divisive topics,” Middlewood said.
“We know [disinformation] is most effective when it’s on these emotionally charged, divisive issues.”
Fact check the information
If you’re reading a message or watching a video with this language, and you encounter new information that you haven’t seen anywhere else, it’s important to look into it — especially when it’s information you find that you didn’t seek out.
“It’s really important to be a little bit skeptical in any new information that you’re reading during an election cycle, especially if you don’t know where it’s coming from or if it’s coming to you unprompted, like through a mailer,” Middlewood said.
In a world where we have endless information at our fingertips, Middlewood said sometimes a quick Google search is all that’s needed to stop false information in its tracks.
“Investigate it, see if you can find other supporting sources that may actually support or debunk, you know, whatever that misinformation is.”
In 2022, misleading text messages urged Kansas voters to vote “yes” on the amendment that would have removed the right to an abortion from Kansas’ constitution. The text falsely claimed that “yes” would have voted to protect the right to an abortion, when it was the other way around.
With text messages, it’s often impossible to see where it’s coming from. In cases like that, it’s even more important to check what the information says.
“Checking that information from multiple sources, and so not just, you know, one website from an organization or a candidate, like check out .... sources from newspapers or whoever it may be, and try to find where that truth is in the story,” Middlewood said.
She said sometimes misinformation is spread by hiding it in truth.
“It starts with something that is true, but maybe you know the date is wrong, or where it’s coming from is wrong, and so it’s based in this little nugget of truth, but is blown way out of proportion,” Middlewood said.
Middlewood recommends checking information on fact checking websites, like FactCheck.org, Politifact and Snopes.
The rise of AI this election season
The growing popularity of artificial intelligence could add an extra layer of disinformation this election season. But thankfully, AI is usually pretty easy to spot when you know what you’re looking for.
If any photo looks in any way out of proportion, it’s best to take the extra mile and look into the information it’s spreading.
“If it has a person in it, check, you know, are there extra fingers on their hand? Is there an extra, you know, leg or something in the image? Because that happens so often,” Middlewood said.
If someone is willing to look further than what’s given to them, fact-checking information becomes less challenging, Middlewood said.
“So finding the truth actually becomes not that difficult, if people are willing to do a quick Google search, cross reference sources, and they can find where that information actually came from to begin with,” she said.
This story was originally published September 13, 2024 at 2:36 PM.
