News Clips

On Tuesday, misinformation researchers tried to get Twitter’s attention to take down unproven rumors and lies. Yosef Getachew, the media and democracy program director of the pro-democracy advocacy group Common Cause, tweeted that “a few super spreaders have been spreading election disinformation narratives throughout the course of the day” and that “not only have these tweets not been removed but many have gone viral, potentially misleading and confusing voters.”

Emma Steiner, a disinformation analyst with the government watchdog group Common Cause, says election deniers are scrambling to find effective narratives for spreading disinformation about the midterm elections. "Because [GOP] candidates like Dr. [Mehmet] Oz in Pennsylvania and Tudor Dixon in Michigan have already conceded, that makes it a little more difficult for supporters to push claims of election fraud," Steiner told reporters Wednesday.

Suzanne Almeida, director of state operations for Common Cause, a government accountability watchdog group, said that while her organization had received numerous reports about people monitoring polling locations with cameras, in most of those situations, there was no direct intimidation of voters. “I am happy to report that today has been relatively quiet on the political violence front,” she said.

“The most concerning thing is the way those isolated incidents are being used to spread mis- and disinformation and lies around the election in an attempt to undermine people’s confidence and faith in the election,” said Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections for the nonpartisan group Common Cause.

Emma Steiner, a disinformation analyst at government transparency advocacy group Common Cause, said the new subscription service worsens pre-existing problems that owe to the trust engendered by the platform's verification model. "At Twitter, there's been a long standing disparity between what Twitter says a check mark is for: Authenticity," Steiner told ABC News. "And what people interpret it as: Authority." "The new policy makes this division more confusing," she added.

With one of the most anticipated Senate races in the country being decided in Georgia today, the state's Common Cause chapter is reminding voters that it may take days before the final results are known. ... “It’s crucial every voice is heard in this election and that means counting every vote,” Aunna Dennis, executive director of Common Cause Georgia, said in a statement. “It takes time to count every vote accurately and that’s why Election Day is not results day.”