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4/ Let's be clear: Disinformation isn't new. Conspiracies have always had a way of finding new audiences. But the deep anxiety and economic insecurity stemming from this pandemic coupled with a summer of racial protests and unrest have left us especially vulnerable.pic.twitter.com/yyPQaTQIaC
5/ One conspiracy theory has been particularly prolific on social platforms: QAnon.
From October 2017 to June 2020, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue recorded
69M+ tweets
487K Facebook posts
281K Instagram posts
mentioning QAnon-related hashtags and phrases.pic.twitter.com/UoI9LmAEaU
6/ So, what's QAnon?
Conspiracy alleging an elite cabal of child-traffickers
Began Oct. 2017 when someone identified as "Q" began posting cryptic msgs on 4chan
"Q" claimed to have high-level security clearance + info about Trump's purported "battle against the deep state"pic.twitter.com/N8cum2TEZE
7/ The QAnon conspiracy now spreads anti-vaccine, anti-5G, antisemitic and anti-migrant rhetoric, all in addition to the core belief that a consortium of elites are supposedly trafficking and sacrificing children. https://bit.ly/2T7iTTx pic.twitter.com/T1ICT5d0eU
8/ So how does this work on Instagram?
Earlier this summer, QAnon hijacked #SaveTheChildren, a hashtag related to real anti-human-trafficking causes.
This tactic of co-opting the hashtag helped amplify Q messaging. https://bit.ly/2T7iTTx pic.twitter.com/2OiTFvxTxJ
9/ Instagram posts are usually shared by people we trust: friends and family. "If you trust the person who shared, you are more likely to trust the information." Regardless of who shared a post, researchers suggest verifying where that social content actually originated.pic.twitter.com/QIhdroGNyt
10/ We're all susceptible to falling for misinformation.
According @bouygueslee, the more we use social media, the worse our news judgment becomes. Social media users are also not nearly as good at identifying fake news as they believe.
https://reboot-foundation.org/is-there-a-fake-news-generation/ …pic.twitter.com/j9vqiVGDlI
11/ What does all of this mean for the #2020Election?
In September, federal intelligence officials warned that foreign actors and cybercriminals are likely to spread disinformation regarding 2020 election results.
https://www.ic3.gov/Media/Y2020/PSA200922 …pic.twitter.com/mAUn9CGoKm
12/ Election officials across the country have taken note. Colorado is combating false information on social media by buying Google ads to counter misinformation on specific keywords and topics.https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/20/us/politics/election-colorado-misinformation.html …
13/ Social platforms have also taken some steps. In early October, Facebook said it would remove any Facebook pages, groups and Instagram accounts representing QAnon — whether or not they contain violent content. https://bit.ly/2T7iTTx pic.twitter.com/CS3jB0oUAA
14/ But @bouygueslee says responsibility also falls on citizens to learn better media literacy, use critical thinking and fact-check information more thoroughly.
"We need to be self-aware that we succumb to fake news."https://bit.ly/2T7iTTx
15/ Remember: mis- and disinformation CAN mislead voters. And we're in a critical time for factual election information.
For more tips on how to identify mis- and disinformation on social platforms, 
dive into (and SHARE!) @marielpadilla_'s reporting.https://bit.ly/2T7iTTx
16/16 We've got one more #Election2020 
coming up and it's just in time.
Stay tuned for our #19thExplains on voting. We're bringing you everything you need to know about Election Day and beyond.https://bit.ly/30Jnjoa
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Disinformation is the deliberate creation and sharing of information known to be false.
