Would it be too much to hope that a lot of people learned their lesson about sharing fake news (the real kind, not the Donald Trump “stuff I don’t like” kind) after 2016? Oh, right, it’s 2018, where one can never be too cynical. So instead of hoping that everyone will immediately see through and discard Election Day misinformation and scams, let’s review.
The New York Times has a helpful list of things to watch out for: 1) Hoaxes about scary people waiting to get you at your polling place; 2) Claims you can vote online or by text (nope); 3) “beware any text messages that tell you that voting hours or locations have changed, that new forms of voter ID are required, or that your voter registration is not valid”; 4) voting machine malfunctions are not unheard-of and you should always check that your machine has registered your vote correctly, but such malfunctions are much less common than the internets would have you believe; 5) misleading photos and videos; and 6) “In the real world, voter fraud is exceedingly rare, but you can expect rumors to fly on Election Day anyway,” and by “rumors to fly” they mean “tweets to emerge from the White House.”
Some advice before you click that share button:
Before sharing a viral story on Election Day that looks suspicious, check a fact-checking website such as Snopes or FactCheck.org first, to see if it has been debunked. If it is a photo, try doing a reverse image search using a website like TinEye to see if the photo is old or mislabeled, or if it has been manipulated.
For voting problems you witness in real life, contact an election protection hotline:
- English 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683)
- Spanish 888-VE-Y-VOTA (888-839-8682)
- Arabic 844-YALLA-US (844-925-5287)
- Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Bengali, Hindi, Urdu and Tagalog 888-API-VOTE (888-274-8683) –
- American Sign Language video call number: 301-818-VOTE (301-818-8683)
- SMS (text message) hotline (English): text OUR VOTE to 97779
Get out the vote: The VoteWithMe app lets you see which of your contacts live in swing districts and need your reminder to vote.
Not sure where to vote? Find your polling place on Vote.org.