Help us fight misinformation
The two most valuable things you can do to help county clerks fight misinformation about elections:
Make sure the information you are receiving about elections comes from a reputable source.
Only share information about elections if you have verified it is accurate.
Understand what you are reading
With the flood of digital information, it can be easy to get confused about what you are seeing and who is producing that information. Here are a few helpful tips and some reputable sites that can help.
Before you believe and share information, take the following steps suggested by the International Federation of Library Associations:
Consider the source. Don’t just read the story. Check out information available about the story’s source by clicking away from the story to investigate the source, its mission and its contact info.
Read beyond the headline. Headlines are often intentionally outrageous in effort to get you to click on the story. Read beyond the headline to make sure the information seems credible before you share.
Check the author. Do a quick Google search on the author. Are they credible? What other stories have they written? Do those enhance or diminish the author’s credibility?
Determine if sources support the story. Click links to sources provided in the story and check out their veracity.
You can check information through independent sources
FactCheck.org – “A nonpartisan, nonprofit consumer advocate for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics.”
Snopes – Widely regarded as one of the web’s essential resource