Hello League Leaders, Members and Friends:
Can we spot fake news? Not sure? NPR provided news about senior citizens gaining information on how to check for fake news. They suggested the resources of Snopes or FactCheck.org to help learn whether the information provided is actually misinformation. Apparently, senior citizens are most vulnerable to fake news if they have not had internet service as a staple in their lifetime. NPR has a Life Kit Newsletter and Podcast to help us spot fake news. Then we can do our homework to get the facts.
Do you feel you have a handle on fake news? Know how to discuss misinformation with friends and family? NPR suggests, “Yelling probably won’t solve misinformation! Consider meeting the individual where they are and be curious -- think about opening with common ground and a question.”
Political ads on Facebook need new FCC oversight and regulation including building methods for social media accountability. Facebook and those who place the ads must be clearly identified. The greatest threat is “dark ads” where only individual users are targeted. We already know that the Russians are very accomplished creators of political ads. Brad Parscale, interviewed on Sixty Minutes( Feb. 27, 2018), described his use of Facebook in the 2016 election, which provided targeting tools also used by the Russians. These tools were offered to both political parties, and still are offered for political ad creation in 2020. Facebook has a Democratic Party member workforce and a Republican Party member workforce. It’s important to know how ads are created to make people react by learning and focusing on their individual Facebook and marketing data. For better understanding, Google “microtargeting”.
The League is known for investigating what we are studying, or seeing in ads, to provide information to voters that can be counted on as factually based. If you feel you would benefit from a presentation on how to navigate through misinformation in “news” and social media, email info [at] lwvdv.org, or use our Facebook or Twitter accounts, noting: “help spotting fake news” and we will work on a panel presentation to help us all learn what we can do to protect ourselves and to communicate with others when it is important to our community to have the facts straight.
Want to make a difference? Join in our preparation for November 2020. Help us use our webpage and our Facebook and Twitter accounts effectively. Advise others about Voter’s Edge for good online election information. Call our office and leave a message to volunteer - 925-283-2235
Suzan Rezqua
