[Music]
the u.s presidential election
is fast approaching the candidates are
talking about the supreme court
police reform and other big issues
there's also attention on the pandemic
and donald trump's hospitalization
after testing positive for covet 19.
but there's a parallel conversation
happening filled with conspiracies and
rumors
here's how you can spot false claims
influence campaigns and hoaxes
on your social media feed
tip 1 if it triggers strong emotions
think before you share
ever heard of q anon it's a false
conspiracy theory that claims president
trump
is fighting a secret war against elite
satan-worshipping
pedophiles we can
all agree that child abuse and human
trafficking are upsetting
terrible crimes but many people don't
realize what's really behind
seemingly virtuous hashtags ones such as
save our children
they have become part of a bigger
politically motivated
disinformation campaign if you see a
claim
made on social media about the election
that makes you feel really emotional
pause for a second get to the bottom of
where it came from
tip 2 question divisive content
us intelligence concluded that russia
used social media to try to influence
the last presidential election
back in 2016. so how can you spot
influence operations on your social
media feeds
foreign interference campaigns often try
to exploit
local divisions and hit people against
each other
that's exactly what russian trolls did
in 2016
with divisive memes about race and
social issues
so beware of posts that promote extreme
points of view and always interrogate
the sources that share them
also be extra cautious with little-known
news websites
that promote political content influence
campaigns
often rely on these facebook recently
shut down one such effort
linked to russia it's centered around a
left-leaning news website
that even hired real us-based
journalists
to write for them
tip 3 consider the motives behind a post
beware dirty tricks
false claims about voter fraud began
circulating online in the summer
often plugged by president trump himself
on twitter he's criticized plans to
expand postal voting
claiming there's tremendous fraud
involved
that's not backed up by the evidence and
as polling day approaches
expect to see false claims about where
when
and how to vote check details about
voting with your local election
authority and as always stop and think