I know it. You know it. The President knows it. Everyone knows it. Russia interfered in our 2016 elections and Trump refuses to condemn ongoing efforts to again undermine the integrity of our elections.
This should concern all of us as Russia and other hostile nations seek to interfere and sow discord within our country this year using disinformation campaigns.
"Disinformation" is false information deliberately spread across social media and news sites in order to influence public opinion, persuade or dissuade and discourage voter participation. For example, we saw Facebook ads in 2016 saying Democrats could vote from home via text message. That is a blatant lie.
What can you do?
We now have more information about how meddling happens, and it's up to each of us individually to check sources before following, sharing or believing what we read online, listen to on the radio or watch on tv. I encourage real diligence this year when it comes to social media sharing.
-
Before you share or believe what you are reading, pause and consider the following questions:
-
Is this the original account, article, or piece of content?
-
Who shared this or created it?
-
Is this a credible source? Has another credible outlet also reported this?
-
When was this created or shared?
-
What account is sharing this? When was the account created? Do they share things from all over the world at all times during the day and night?
-
Could this be a bot?
-
What is the whole story?
-
Should I report this as misinformation?
What am I doing about this?
I will continue working in Congress and in my role with the House Intelligence Committee to identify targetted attacks on our elections and raise the alarm about what we are seeing. The public must be kept informed.
Thank you for your help in identifying disinformation campaigns, and for talking to your friends and family members about what they are sharing online.
