Scholars tracking social media see efforts to delegitimize election, imperiling democracy

Published Oct 27 2020 at 1:36 AM GMT

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The University of Washington’s Kate Starbird has been immersing herself in election disinformation, and what she’s found is deeply troubling.
By tracking tweets, Facebook posts and news stories, Starbird and her academic colleagues have documented an ongoing, long-term effort to sow worries that the 2020 vote is rife with fraud, laying the groundwork for some to reject the election’s outcome.
The potential damage, Starbird said, extends well beyond this one race.
“Democracy fails if we lose trust in the pro.