Truth Or Bot: How to Know If the Information You’re Reading Is Real
Tell a loved one about how to protect against conspiracy theories and misinformation
Last week, a slew of Black social media users blasted the Democratic Party and urged the Black community to consider voting for Trump. Just one problem — the accounts didn’t actually belong to Black people at all. Instead, they were fake accounts trying to give the misleading impression that Black voters are voting for Trump in droves.
Disinformation is nothing new.
A Senate inquiry confirms that bad actors targeting Black people on social media was just one part of a multipronged disinformation campaign meant to sow division, chaos, and distrust ahead of the 2016 election. And the Black community was the biggest target. In 2020, bad actors continue to spread disinformation around Covid and the election targeting communities of color.
This is a huge problem. Black communities are already hit hardest by the impacts of Covid, and we are the biggest targets for inaccurate or misleading health information about the virus on social media. We need accurate information about the virus so that we can plan accordingly, to protect ourselves and our families. We are also disproportionately targeted for misleading voting…
