To Fight disinformation, don't believe it, don't share it
This is what future of journalism looks like with autocratic rule
On any given day, the number of scandalous claims perpetuated on social media can leave us gasping.
Too many of us are taken in and sometimes even share a post that shocks us.
What to do?
Many of us have sworn off social media.
Others have unfriended colleagues and acquaintances spreading unsubstantiated claims.
Some of us may even have sworn off news entirely.
This past week, I sat in on a town hall Zoom meeting on disinformation. It was hosted by Common Cause New York and provided some basic fundamental advice.
First, and this is something I've been telling people for a long time, if something sounds unbelievable, more often than not it is and you should not give it a second thought. In the newspaper business, we called it our "BS meter."
I tuned mine over years in journalism. Unfortunately, we all need one these days.
After the onslaught of social media, I would get calls asking me why we did not include some outrageous story in our news report. After a quick fact check - Politifact or Snopes - are good sources - I'd inform the person: "Because the story is not true."
They often did not believe me.
Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause New York, gave similar advice in her presentation.
"It isn't always obvious," Lerner said about many of the claims. "Whenever I hear an outrageous claim, I am skeptical."
Healthy skepticism is paramount in these difficult times.
Her second piece of advice was never to repeat or repost any of the outrageous disinformation.
"The first line of defense is not to repeat the lies," Lerner said. "Do not amplify the lies."
She explained that social media algorithms see a like or reposting as your interest in the subject and steer more outrageous information to you social media page.
Lerner pointed out that an organization called New York Citizens Audit has been stirring up all kinds of controversy about elections in New York being corrupt. Lerner said their intention is to seed doubt on the integrity of elections.
While there is no evidence of election fraud in New York or elsewhere, we still have politicians at the highest levels saying there was.
Many of our friends and neighbors have bought into it as well.
Lerner provided and explained how voter registration data is protected and updated on a regular basis on a bipartisan basis. It should give any election denier doubts about their beliefs.
Here are some of the things done to ensure election integrity is protected:
- Registration records are maintained daily on a bipartisan basis. Any change to a voter's record undergoes a bipartisan review - one Republican representative and one Democratic representative - to ensure a greater level of oversight in any election transactions.
- There are extensive checks and balances at the state and county levels to ensure the voter list is safe, secure and accurate.
- Any change is meticulously documented to ensure no record is altered without due process. County boards review correspondence from voters, agencies and other states to ensure all records are up to date. Deceased notices from the Department of Health and local obituaries, notices of individuals incarcerated for felony offenses from the Department of Corrections and lists of new voters in other states who indicate holding a prior residence in New York are processed and documented routinely.
- County boards undertake a mandatory annual mail check process which requires notices to be sent to all active voters to ensure they have not moved.
- County boards annually compare voter addresses against the National Change of Address database. They also check with the U.S. Post Office records.
-The law requires an affirmative notice to make changes to any voter's record. Without a return mail check card or a signed letter from a voter indicating they've moved or changed addresses, boards of elections are prohibited from making registration record changes. These checks and balances are designed for the benefit of the voter and are designed to protect against voters being purged without a cause.
- Counties also undergo a biannual audit of their internal record keeping process. If a county is found to not be correctly processing voters, the state will make recommendations on how to amend their processes.
That's a long way of saying that it is incredibly difficult to perpetuate voting fraud.
Share this with the election denier of your choice.
Journalist thrown out
Sandra Fish, is a journalist for The Colorado Sun who has covered politics in Colorado since 1982.
She was planning on covering the State GOP Assembly in Pueblo this weekend - where its delegates pick candidates for the fall election - when she received a text message at 3:45 a.m. from a Republican Party event organizer saying she was not being allowed to attend.
Like a good reporter, she went anyway, picked up her press credential at the door and was watching the event an hour later - doing her job - when she was told to leave.
I urge you view the video about what happened next:
video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1776652268336795649/pu/pl/RDXBOBQXVMO-fr5n.m3u8?tag=12&container=cmaf
This is what happens when those in power limit press access because they don't like your coverage.
Over the past year, Fish has written articles about the state GOP's financial troubles and how the the new state GOP chairman used his party leadership position to benefit himself and his allies.
When asked to leave, Fish showed a law enforcement officer her media credential.
“You have to be invited here," he responds in the video taken by other journalists. "They don’t want you here. We have to get you out of here.”
They took her media credential and escorted her out of the building.
Colorado Sun Editor Larry Ryckman said it is "a sad day when politicians get to decide who can and cannot report for the American people."
He compared Fish's removal to something that would happen in the Soviet Union.
The Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition posted in response the reporter’s removal: “Booting a credentialed journalist from a political party assembly, especially one who represents a statewide news organization like the @ColoradoSun undermines the vital role of the free press and directly impacts thousands of Coloradans who rely on The Sun for coverage.”
The Society of Professional Journalists also condemned the action:
“These actions taken by government officials are outrageous and a total affront to the First Amendment,” said SPJ National President Ashanti Blaize-Hopkins. “Politicians don’t get to decide who covers them and doing so sets a dangerous precedent and threat to press freedom. Sandra Fish had every right to cover the GOP assembly.”
Several Colorado Republicans also objected to Fish's removal.
“Sandra Fish is a fair, honest and respected reporter. As a Republican I’m embarrassed by the GOP chair,” State Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer said. “As a state senator I’m stunned by the blatant disregard for our Constitution — and by a former legislator no less. Disgusting.”
This is the top of world you can expect if authoritarian leaders gain power.
Busy, busy April
I'll be retired four years in July and the one thing I can say for sure is that I have never been bored.
This April will be filled with things to do, starting today when my wife and I head to New York City to catch up with my cousin and his wife who are visiting from France. We are all going to a Broadway show tonight, then heading back up here for the weekend.
We follow that up on Monday night where we will see Bruce Springsteen in Albany. It will be my 30th Springsteen concert. The show was originally scheduled for last March, then canceled and rescheduled for September when it was canceled again.
I follow that up on Thursday when I will be taking my brother out to Syracuse for another Springsteen show. That show was originally scheduled for September 2023 and was canceled.
So two Springsteen concerns originally scheduled six months apart have now been scheduled for three days apart.
I'm just hoping Bruce does not get sick or sprain an ankle before Monday.
Cambridge mascot
The saga may finally be over in Cambridge.
Cambridge Central School posted on its website that after surveying 575 students in grades 2-12 and another 96 district residents that "Tigers" was the favored mascot moving forward with 52 percent of the vote. Valley Wolves was second with 31 percent of vote and Eagles third with 17 percent.
The board was expected to take action at its meeting on Thursday, April 11 to adopt Tigers as its new mascot.
Trial of the century
It is rare that I have a positive reaction to a death, but such was the case on Wednesday when the death of O.J. Simpson was announced.
I believed I cheered.
For those of us of adult age in the 1990s, O'J. Simpson's murder trial was the trial of the century. It went on for nine months and most of us still remember where we were when we heard the shocking decision that O.J. Simpson had been acquitted.
DNA science was new at the time, but the evidence showed Simpson's DNA at the murder scene and the victims' DNA in his car.
The infamous chase of Simpson in his Ford Bronco will go down as a seminal TV moment.
Two people were killed that night. O.J. Simpson got away with murder.
When the ex-POTUS and his enablers put out a never ending stream of unadulterated BS, and much of the corporate/mainstream/legacy media reports on it as if it needs to be taken seriously, we have a very big problem. The emperor’s got no clothes…it ain’t a subject for debate.
OJ is finally forced to face himself and the two he killed.