How to Detect Online Propaganda

5 Tips for Surviving Election Season Online

While European elections may be behind us, the United States is heading into the mid-term elections in early November. That means all kinds of interest groups will be trying to influence you online. Today, we want to help you sort out the good, the bad and the ugly of online propaganda during an election cycle.

I have one friend who has decided to weather the US elections by disconnecting entirely from all social media. If you don’t want to go to that extreme, you’re going to have to learn to develop a Sherlock Holmes-like ability to sniff out the truth because it’s hard to find when it comes to online information. But here are some tips that can help you sniff out the real deal.

1. Beware of the unidentified election ad.

We found this ad on Facebook during the late spring elections in California.

The ad is prominently positioned above the user’s newsfeed, like a special announcement. It asks if you’re voting in the upcoming election and encourages you to share with friends. The problem is, the ad is not clearly associated with any one person or organization. If you click on it, you don’t know who you’re giving the information to – the California Election board or some bad actor trying to gather information to try and discourage you from voting one way or another or even voting at all. Don’t click on it and don’t share. If you’re going to vote and you want to share with your friends, make your own post.

2. Be suspicious. Be very suspicious.

When you see a compelling meme from what looks like a made-up source, it could be a bot or a foreign government spreading lies to influence the US elections. Before you call us paranoid, read Facebook’s own admission (http://bit.ly/2O6HyXJ) that thousands of memes and ads from Iran and Russia were posted and shared before Facebook realized it was a foreign actor spreading misinformation. 

Realize that much of the information you see on social media is not accurate. If you can’t vet the information or the source, even if the meme is funny or you agree, resist sharing it or reposting because you might be a pawn in someone else’s game.

3. If you find yourself outraged, stop.

Outrage is the tool of election propaganda. Headlines, memes and one-liners are used primarily to provoke outrage because people are more likely to act and repost if they are outraged. If you find yourself outraged by a headline or article, stop. Think about the source. Could this be false information? Recognize the emotion of outrage as a weapon in the online spread of lies, misinformation or half-truths. There is plenty to be outraged about in the world right now. But not all of it is real. Much like the old saying “sex sells”, outrage is the new sex and it’s a number-one seller. But just like the photoshopped pictures used to sell a sexy image, outrageous headlines are often just an overly-produced illusion.

4. Debate privately with a trusted group.

Prior to social media, we often discussed election issues privately with a trusted group of friends. We got out our voters’ guides, read them together, and discussed the pros and cons of each candidate or measure based on the issues alone. If you try to do that on social media, you will open Pandora’s troll box and unleash a torrent of hateful discourse. Instead, create a private group on Idka. Each week, tackle a candidate or election topic and have an intelligent, troll-free, ad-free, bot-free discussion with a trusted group. The return to civility will renew your faith in humanity.

5. Fact Check.

There are many good fact-checking sources online. Ballotpedia not only lays out both sides of proposed ballot measures in each city and state, it provides fact-checking for the claims. The most highly-rated fact-checking sites online are Politifact, Factcheck.org and Snopes. Use one of them, or use them all to double check everything you hear and read, even if you’re convinced it’s true. An educated and discerning electorate body is the best weapon against all the propaganda online and the greatest guardian of democracy.

In short, even Sherlock Holmes would probably suggest you come off social media platforms (at least the free variety) all together, if you don’t want to be a target for manipulation during the run-up to mid-term elections. Best to chat about politics with the people who matter to you. Arguments online from either side are rarely won. But if you do use social media, be on the lookout for content that’s meant to sway you in one direction or the other.