In the social media era, misinformation and elections go together the way kissing babies and elections used to a century ago. The impact of conspiracy theories, hoaxes, fake images, engineered rumors, disinformation, and outright lies on recent elections has been devastating. The “Big Lie” that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump set the stage for chaos in the U.S. government, led to the January 6 insurrection, and continues be trotted out every day by the former president and his supporters—even though no evidence has emerged that any fraudulent votes were cast or that any results were changed by electronic voting systems or “ballot mules.”
Likewise, conspiracy theories about Hillary Clinton have a three-decade history, all the way back to the phone scandals that dogged Bill Clinton’s time in office. The former Secretary of State has been the subject of so many myths and disinformation attacks that Trump was able to simply pick up in 2016 where a generation of past conspiracists left off. The result was that the last few months of the contest were a deluge of rumors about Clinton being in poor health, being an occult child trafficker, and being imminently indicted by the FBI. While some of these stories were spread and stoked by foreign powers, namely Russia, most originated in the U.S. with homegrown influencers, playing on the very particular strain of paranoia and distrust of authority that Americans have always had.
And while past presidents have generally stayed above the fray in terms of the misinformation and conspiracy theories being put out by their campaign, Trump has done just the opposite. He rose to political prominence in 2011 and 2012 by questioning whether then-president Barack Obama was born in the United States (he was). Since Trump’s election in 2016, he has continued spreading conspiracy theories, and now in 2024 he routinely makes up stories about Vice President Kamala Harris, deep-state plots to silence him, whites being “replaced” by minorities, and of a vast conspiracy to steal elections from him, past and present.
All elections are unique, but the 2024 contest has seen more than a year of slow-moving and endless campaigning turned upside down by the Democratic Party replacing its nominee, assassination attempts against Trump, and the influence of new technology and methods of communication. We can’t predict what conspiracy theories will drive the final weeks and months of the campaign, but there are certain things we should all be expecting as well as signs we can look for to tell if a story or image is disinformation meant to manipulate your emotions:
Rumors about the origins and history of the candidates. The moment Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee after President Joe Biden stepped aside, the same falsehoods that were spread about Barack Obama started being spread about her—namely that she’s not eligible to be president because she or her parents aren’t U.S. citizens (they are). Likewise, the moment Governor Tim Walz was announced as Harris’s running mate, social media lit up with rumors about his military service, trips to China when he was young, and whether he and his wife had used fertility treatments to conceive their child. These claims were based on misinterpretations of past statements, willful conspiracism, or personal grudges.
Video clips being edited and/ or played out of context. This has been a common tactic among social media accounts for both candidates: taking a few seconds from a longer clip that paints the other candidate in a poor light. Always try to find the longer version of a given video clip that contains what the candidate was saying or doing both before and after the remark.
Breaking news from accounts that have no access to breaking news. This is especially common on X/Twitter, where influencer accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers share “breaking news” that usually involves something drastic about either candidate. If nobody else is reporting it, and the original source of the claim doesn’t provide evidence, it’s likely a hoax.
Memes and trends based on things that never happened. Influencers and candidates will attempt to sway voters by posting fake images and trying to turn them into stories. Some of these will start off as jokes or trolling, such as the persistent rumor that Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance had confessed to having sexual relations with a couch, which is not true but was presented as a joke. Others will be serious efforts, such as Trump posting a meme of Taylor Swift with the implication that the singer had endorsed him, which she has not.
Fake images and videos. It’s easier than ever to create and share fake pictures, videos, and images. The problem is on both sides of the aisle, with Democrats sharing supposed images of Secret Service agents smiling after Trump’s assassination attempt, and Republicans sharing AI images of Trump meeting with Black supporters. Most of these images are fairly easy to spot with just a little more scrutiny. It’s vital to look closely and critically at images to get confirmation they’re real before sharing.
Signs of foreign interference. Governments in China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and elsewhere have already been attempting to interfere with the election on social media. These efforts will only intensify as Election Day gets closer. To see signs of foreign interference, look for a large number of inauthentic sounding accounts with small followings repeating each other or trying to bait users into arguments. They will often have fake-looking AI images as profile pictures, account names that don’t make sense, and speak in broken English using short, identical phrases.
Statements of fact that seem like conspiracy theories. If a claim is presented as a fact that you “aren’t supposed to know” or is being “covered up” by the media, it’s likely not true. And the more conspiratorial an accusation or the more people would be required to be part of said cover-up, the less likely it is to be real.
Open threats on unregulated social media. While much of the mythmaking, conspiracy theorizing, and lying is simply trolling done for laughs, an increasing amount comes with violent threats and ideation. These threats should always be taken seriously, even if the person behind it doesn’t have any intention of committing violence. Report it on social media, and if you feel it’s warranted, contact the FBI’s tip line. But tagging law enforcement agencies on social media is useless and will not draw attention to threats.
The election outcome is still unknown, but we can all take steps to protect ourselves, curate our information diet, and avoid obvious disinformation meant to manipulate or suppress our vote.