The prediction about the threat of disinformation in this year’s presidential election was that Russia would try to use AI and deepfakes to try to influence voters. They have tried that, but it turns out their most successful effort so far has been a seemingly sloppy video purporting to show Haitian immigrants — who ostensibly entered the U.S. six months ago and have already become American citizens — voting multiple times, using different IDs.
How dumb is this? Let me count the ways. First of all, I’d love to know more about the 6-month fast track to U.S. citizenship, as I’m sure would the millions of green card holders and naturalized who have had to go through a long and arduous process to get their status. Second, does it not seem odd that two people violating the law would create video evidence of their crimes, and then post it on social media? Third, why do the alleged Haitians have West African accents? I just can’t.
Of course, logic and common sense hasn’t stopped the video from going viral in MAGA circles, which reflects the fact that Russia really doesn’t need to use advanced technology to interfere in the election, it can just piggyback on existing Trump-propagated narratives. As I’ve detailed in my recent post about directionally motivated reasoning, a population that is susceptible to confirmation bias and actively seeking identity-confirming narratives doesn’t need much prodding to take the bait and amplify narratives that dovetail with the Trump campaign’s lies about illegal voting. Who needs troll farms when MAGA zombies will do the amplification for you?
And speaking of amplification, the video spread prolifically on X, prompting Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger to call on Elon Musk to take the video down. (It’s not clear that that has happened yet.) And the FBI, along with the ODNI and CISA, also quickly issued a joint statement attributing the video to Russia. Given what came to light last week regarding Musk’s frequent phone calls to Putin, it’s not surprising that the video gained traction on his platform. Renato and I discuss Musk’s Pooty calls in last week’s pod:
Articles worth reading:
Expect the best but prepare for the worst: As we head into Tuesday, this Politico piece outlining the ways that Trump will try to effect another coup, even with a Harris victory, is worth reading
Some good explainers by Steve Vladeck at One First about election-related litigation and the Supreme Court: Part I and Part II
Upcoming events:
TOMORROW! Freedom Academy Book Club with Yale Professor Jason Stanley, author of Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future, November 3, 8 p.m. EST. I’m soooooo excited that my friend and colleague Jason Stanley will be joining us to discuss his new book, which was released just last week! We’ll have this book discussion right before the election, to remind us what’s at stake. The Freedom Academy Book Club discussions are open to all paid subscribers and recordings of the talks are posted afterwards in case you can’t make it live.
NEW! Zoom Office Hours, Friday, November 8, 9-10 a.m. We’ll celebrate or share exit strategies, depending on what happens Tuesday. Zoom link will be sent three hours before the discussion. This will not be recorded.
Guest Speaker Renee DiResta, author of Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality, November 21, 12-1 p.m. EST. Finally! I have been waiting for someone to unpack how social media and algorithms distort our marketplace of ideas, and am thrilled that Renee has agreed to be a guest speaker for our class! This will dovetail with our upcoming module on Social Media and the Media Ecosystem, where we will look at how social media and “propaganda feedback loops” like Fox News and Elon “invisible hand” Musk have upended some of the basic underpinnings of our democracy. A Zoom link will be sent to paid subscribers three hours before the talk and will be recorded and posted after.
Have you voted yet? How are you feeling about Tuesday?
I’m voting on Tuesday because I like the tradition of walking to my usual polling place to arrive at 6 a.m. and actually cast my vote in person on Election Day. Feeling positive that women (especially us old ones) will carry the day for Kamala and Tim. Once the results are tabulated nationwide, however, I am a bit nervous about the possible repercussions fomented by the loser. Frankly I find it inconceivable that the man could run again after his instigation of the January 6th insurrection.
Fortunately for the Russians MAGA voters are the same people that believe a demon attacked Tucker Carlson in bed and middle school nurses are performing sex change operations.