In US election misinformation fight, ‘2020 changed everything’

As US voters get ready for hundreds of elections of local and national importance this year, officials and voting rights advocates are bracing for a repeat of the misinformation that overwhelmed the 2020 presidential election. This year, the voting advocacy group Common Cause hopes to rely on thousands of volunteers to identify misinformation floating around online and push for social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to take down the most egregious falsehoods. — AP

WASHINGTON: Beth Bowers grew up in the 1960s and 1970s with parents who marched in protests, wrote letters to members of Congress and voted in elections big and small.

Her father, a World War II veteran, and her mother, an educational counselor, did not use social media sites in their lifetimes. But Bowers is sure they would be disheartened to see how easily falsehoods about the US elections are disseminated online to millions and millions of people.