On Day 3 of #NationalVoterEducationWeek, we welcome you back to Athena Strategies’ Misinformation Roundup, your bulletin of viral rumors that never happened! Through Misinformation Roundup, Athena Strategies aims to debunk falsehoods and empower individuals with accurate information, fostering a healthier democracy.
Here are a few pieces of mis and disinformation that circulated on social media recently, along with clear explanations of why they’re false.
- False and misleading claims about election fraud continue to circulate following baseless comments made by former President Trump and others. There is no evidence of widespread election fraud through mail-in ballots, non-citizen voting or overseas voting. Similarly, while a recurring misinterpretation of the Social Security Administration’s Help America Vote Verification database has led to false conspiracy theories about registration of deceased persons, the database shows when states request verification, not registration, of voters. And, voter removals from registration databases is a normal, routine process, and is important for keeping the rolls up to date. In North Carolina, unfounded claims of impropriety around this process have been debunked. It is important to keep in mind that all states have many procedures in place to prevent election fraud, and there are severe criminal and civil penalties as well.
- And emergencies like natural disasters always seem to inspire false conspiracy theories. Contrary to false narratives, the North Carolina counties hit hard by Hurricane Helene were not denied federal aid. In fact, all these counties were included in the federal disaster declaration, and in addition, the State Board of Elections has unanimously approved bipartisan emergency measures to help hurricane victims to vote. Additionally, Trump’s deceitful claims about diversion of FEMA funds to undocumented migrants have been assessed as so dishonest as to be rated “Pants on Fire” false by Politifact. Interestingly, when Trump was president, his administration did shift some of FEMA’s disaster relief funding to immigration issues. FEMA addresses false rumors about the hurricane on its website.
- False claims about Haitian migrants, such as ones made by and even doubled down on by Trump and by Vance, have not only been thoroughly debunked, but also have been causing serious repercussions to communities across the country. This must stop. These lies originated from unfounded social media posts that have been thoroughly debunked by Reuters Fact Check, AP Fact Check, Check Your Fact, Lead Stories and PolitiFact, as well as city and state officials. The City of Springfield addressed some rumors on its website, including noting that Haitians were more frequently victims of crime than perpetrators.
Misinformation is a critical threat to our democracy, and Athena Strategies is seeking your help! We encourage our readers to actively scrutinize the information you encounter. Should you come across a piece of content that you suspect to be misinformation, please reach out to us.
With your help, we can stop the spread of false information and strengthen trust in our democratic process. Stay tuned for the next edition of Misinformation Roundup, where we’ll continue to shed light on falsehoods impacting our democracy and world.