2020 Elections & The Media: Disinformation
The 2020 election showed a rise in the power of social media, as well as the problems with social media. Campaigns spent hundreds of millions of dollars advertising on social media. However, there were questions about whether social media companies were simply allowing candidates to spread false information. At the same time, foreign operatives and extremist groups used social media to spread disinformation. This made many question social media’s role in politics and the laws that allow social media to be used to spread such disinformation.
Instructors, click the link below to download this week’s lecture for use in your classroom. The deck contains a writing prompt and a debate question as well as other assessment questions.
Download the PowerPoint Lecture Spark for “The Media"
Links
“FactBox: How Social Media Services Handle Political Ads”
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-advertising-factbox/factbox-how-social-media-services-handle-political-ads-idUSKBN1Z824O
“Why Political Campaigns Are Flooding Facebook with Ad Dollars”
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/08/trump-biden-pacs-spend-big-on-facebook-as-election-nears.html
“Why Everyone is Upset with Facebook Over Its Political Ads Policy”
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/22/technology/campaigns-pressure-facebook-political-ads.html
“Most Important 2020 Misinformation Threat Is Not Coming From Overseas: Facebook Former Security Chief Alex Stamos”
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/30/most-important-2020-election-misinformation-threat-not-from-overseas.html
“How to Spot Misinformation Around Election Day and What to Do About It”
https://time.com/5905903/election-misinformation/
“Your Guide to Spotting Disinformation in US and California Elections”
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/election/article246060940.html
Assessment
- Debate: How should social media companies regulate political content?
- As consumers of media, how can we avoid be tricked by disinformation?
- Poll: Have you ever shared political content on social media?
- Short Answer: Why is social media an easy place to spread disinformation?
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Featured Image Credit: – dole777
