Election Deniers & Election Disinformation

[phkrause]

MyPillow, owned by election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used, but company founder and prominent election denier Mike Lindell said that it’s just a formality because the landlord wants to take the property back.

https://apnews.com/article/mike-lindell-mypillow-eviction-election-denier-11cd7e09f86f1ab03527281e51922730?

[phkrause]

Election disinformation takes a big leap with AI being used to deceive worldwide There has been a quantum leap from a few years ago, when creating phony photos, videos or audio clips required teams of people with time, technical skill and money. Now, using free and low-cost generative artificial intelligence services from companies like Google and OpenAI, anyone can create high-quality “deepfakes” with just a simple text prompt. Read more.

Why this matters: It can erode trust. Some AI deepfakes aim to sow doubt about candidates’ allegiances.   It can blur reality. Audio-only deepfakes are especially hard to verify because, unlike photos and videos, they lack telltale signs of manipulated content.   It is a challenge to democracy. Some political campaigns are using generative AI to bolster their candidate’s image.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ 25 elections in 2024 that could change the world   WATCH: Space lasers and false flags? If it’s election season, it’s conspiracy theory season   AI-generated voices in robocalls can deceive voters. The FCC has made them illegal

[phkrause]

Election deniers moving closer to GOP mainstream, report shows, as Trump allies fill Congress A new report released Tuesday by States United Action, a group that tracks election deniers, said nearly one-third of the lawmakers in Congress supported in some way Donald Trump’s bid to overturn the 2020 results or otherwise cast doubt on the reliability of elections. Several more are hoping to join them, running for election this year to the House and Senate. Read more.

Why this matters: Republicans in Congress have become even more likely to cast doubts on Biden’s victory or deny it was legitimate, a political turnaround that allows Trump’s false claims of fraud to linger and lays the groundwork to potentially challenge the results in 2024. The issue is particularly stark for Congress given its constitutional role as the final arbiter of the validity of a presidential election.   In the report, States United found that in Congress, 170 representatives and senators out of 535 lawmakers overall can be categorized as election deniers. Heading into the fall elections, two new Senate candidates and 17 new House candidates are also on the ballot this fall and seeking to join them.   It’s not just Congress that has been seeded with people who supported trying to overturn Trump’s 2020 loss, but the highest ranks of the Republican Party. Trump has selected Michael Whatley, who has echoed his election lies, to become co-chairman of the Republican National Committee, along with his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump. Christina Bobb, who was recently indicted for alleged involvement in a scheme to recruit fake electors in Arizona, has been named the RNC’s head of “election integrity.”

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Biden, Trump win Kentucky, Oregon primaries as presidential nominating season nears its end   Fani Willis and judge presiding over Georgia Trump election case defeat challengers   Lara Trump embraces ex-president’s approach in helping lead Republican Party

[phkrause]

Voting rights groups call on FL elected officials to combat election disinformation

With concerns about election dis- and misinformation coursing through the election cycle this year, a group of Florida voting rights and social justice groups are calling on every state and county elected official to be aware of election laws and communicate that information accurately to their constituents.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2024/06/25/voting-rights-groups-call-on-fl-elected-officials-to-combat-election-disinformation/?

ps:Disinformation is there specialty!!

[phkrause]

Russia is relying on unwitting Americans to spread election disinformation, US officials say Top intelligence officials detailed the latest efforts by America’s adversaries to shape public opinion ahead of the 2024 election. Read more.

Key points: The ultimate goal is to get Americans to spread Russian disinformation without questioning its origin. Officials said that people are far more likely to trust and repost information that they believe is coming from a domestic source. Fake websites designed to mimic U.S. news outlets and AI-generated social media profiles are just two methods.   In some cases, Americans and American tech companies and media outlets have willingly amplified and parroted the messages of the Kremlin. In one measure of the threat, officials tracking foreign disinformation say they have issued twice the number of warnings to political candidates, government leaders, election offices and others targeted by foreign groups so far in the 2024 election cycle as they did in the 2022 cycle.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Intelligence chairman says US may be less prepared for election threats than it was four years ago   Presidential election a prime target for foreign disinformation, intelligence officials say   US disrupts Russian government-backed disinformation campaign that relied on AI technology

[bonnie1962]

Russia is relying on unwitting Americans to spread election disinformation, US officials say

Top intelligence officials detailed the latest efforts by America’s adversaries to shape public opinion ahead of the 2024 election. Perhaps Hilary and friends can offer unwitting Americans disinformation lessons . Seems they did so before. Quite successfully.

[phkrause]

Former Colorado clerk Tina Peters, one-time hero to election deniers, convicted in computer breach

DENVER (AP) — Former Colorado clerk Tina Peters, the first local election official to be charged with a security breach after the 2020 election as unfounded conspiracy theories swirled, was found guilty by a jury on most charges Monday.

https://apnews.com/article/tina-peters-election-computer-breach-8a171657321dd595dfd2dd81e0a0a848?

[bonnie1962]

Amazing isnt it?

Election deniers seem to thrive on both sides.

Trump "knows he’s an illegitimate president," Clinton said. "I believe he understands that the many varying tactics they used, from voter suppression and voter purging to hacking to the false stories — he knows that — there were just a bunch of different reasons why the election turned out like it did … I know he knows this wasn’t on the level."

In an October 2020 interview with The Atlantic, Clinton said, "There was a widespread understanding that [the 2016] election was not on the level. We still don’t know what happened … but you don’t win by 3 million votes and have all this other shenanigans and stuff going on and not come away with an idea like, ‘Whoa, something’s not right here.’" 

Fact check: Did Democrats suggest the 2016 election was stolen? (statesman.com)

I think this is more than a suggesstion

 

[phkrause]

Election deniers’ last stand in Wisconsin

The mayor of Wausau, Wisconsin, made a national media splash this week when he dressed up in a hard hat and carted away his community’s only absentee ballot drop box, outraging local voters, city officials and voting rights advocates statewide.

https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2024/09/27/election-deniers-last-stand-in-wisconsin/?

[phkrause]

Have a friend or relative who’s sharing election falsehoods? Don’t avoid them. Engage them.

Arizona makes headlines for some real head-scratching stuff. It’s frustrating for those of us who love the Grand Canyon State and know the great things that happen here — news that rarely makes national headlines. Now, we’re on the national stage again, as the epicenter of election falsehoods.

https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/have-friend-or-relative-whos-sharing-election-falsehoods-dont-avoid-them-engage-them?

[phkrause]

America's gullibility crisis

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

In the heat of this historic election, educated elites who should know better — billionaires, elected officials, journalists — keep falling for fakes, conspiracy theories and outright lies, Axios' Zachary Basu reports. Why it matters: Human gullibility isn't a new phenomenon. But social media and polarized politics are exposing it at industrial scale, fueled by a poisonous cocktail of bad actors, media illiteracy and plummeting trust in traditional news. ? In the last few weeks alone: MAGA influencers breathlessly spread the false claim that Vice President Harris used a teleprompter during her Univision town hall, which the X algorithm then promoted in its trending topics as fact. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) posted a purported screenshot of a headline in The Atlantic that read: "To Save Democracy Harris May Need To Steal An Election." It was fake, and Roy deleted the post. Bill Ackman, a hedge fund billionaire with 1.4 million followers on X, obsessively promoted allegations from an ABC News "whistleblower" that the network had given Harris questions in advance of her debate with Trump. On Wednesday, more than a month later, Ackman admitted it was "fake." Zoom in: Elon Musk, whose takeover of X has enabled fake news slop at scale, is among the most consistent offenders — credulously promoting baseless claims about voter fraud that rack up billions of views. "Is this true?" the pro-Trump billionaire will often ask his legions of followers about blatant bunk, helping it spread like wildfire. Musk frequently touts the "Community Notes" system, whereby X users can vote to add fact checks to false posts, but many posts don't get the Community Notes treatment until well after they go viral, if at all. It's not just Trump supporters who are prone to gullibility and confirmation bias. Pro-Harris accounts falsely claimed last week that former Bush aide Karl Rove was campaigning for her in Pennsylvania. "It's amazing what people come up with and what they'll fall for," Rove tweeted. Liberal conspiracy theories flooded social media after the first assassination attempt against Trump, a phenomenon that researchers dubbed "BlueAnon" — a play on the far-right QAnon movement. ? The big picture: The misinformation crisis may be playing out online, but the real-world implications are vast. The deadly hurricanes that swept across the Southeast in recent weeks exposed the staggering extent to which people have become prone to conspiracy theories, spurring threats against emergency responders. 54% of respondents in an Axios Vibes survey published last month agreed with the statement, "I've disengaged from politics because I can't tell what's true." The bottom line: Never before have so many people been so exposed to so much misinformation. Given the increasing ubiquity of AI-generated content, this may be only the beginning.

[phkrause]

Russia is behind viral disinformation targeting Walz, intelligence official says

WASHINGTON (AP) — Groups in Russia created and helped spread viral disinformation targeting Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, a senior U.S. intelligence official said Tuesday.

https://apnews.com/article/walz-russia-disinformation-election-harris-trump-8646b7f354df629cd5d6661ba51e7174?

[phkrause]

Don't be fooled on Election Day: 6 false voting claims to look out for

With Election Day bearing down, guarding against misinformation is more vital than ever.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/11/02/election-day-misinformation-guide/75918858007/?

[phkrause]

Minnesota judge orders Mike Lindell’s MyPillow to pay nearly $778K to delivery service DHL

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota judge has ordered MyPillow to pay nearly $778,000 for unpaid bills and other costs to package delivery service DHL, which had sued the company that’s synonymous with its founder, chief pitchman and election denier Mike Lindell.

https://apnews.com/article/mike-lindell-dhl-lawsuit-election-trump-eed2bc74f8cecd2ae6b31af838231b5e?

[phkrause]

Election denial is a fault line in Republican primary for Georgia secretary of state

ATLANTA (AP) — The specter of the 2020 election — when President Donald Trump refused to accept his loss to Democrat Joe Biden — continues to haunt Georgia and casts a long shadow over the Republican primary for candidates vying to be the state’s top election official.

https://apnews.com/article/georgia-secretary-of-state-59ed70c3221ed84502b67cb9002d1dba?