Election News
As Harris Moves To Secure The Democratic Nomination, Misinformation Follows Soon After Online
Within minutes of President Joe Biden endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him on the Democratic Party’s ticket on Sunday, the internet erupted with lies, distorted photographs, and other false allegations about Harris.
Some fans of former President Donald Trump, the Republican contender for the November election, even claimed Biden was the victim of a coup.
Meanwhile, a flurry of slickly crafted pro-Harris videos soon spread on social media as her supporters attempted to capitalize on the situation.
The venom and counter-punches are a likely preview of the remaining three months of the presidential race when a fierce battle to mold and destroy Harris’ image will take place at a time when social media companies have reduced disinformation controls.
“As Kamala Harris becomes more likely to be the Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee and gains more public attention, the amount of disinformation and misleading rhetoric will increase exponentially,” Erik Nisbet, a professor at Northwestern University’s School of Communication, told CNN.
Harris | CNN
As Harris Moves To Secure The Democratic Nomination, Misinformation Follows Soon After Online
On X, owner Elon Musk fueled an antisemitic conspiracy theory by responding to a photo of Harris with Alexander Soros, son of billionaire megadonor George Soros, by implying that Harris was a “puppet” of the family. Musk embraced Trump this month, sharing pro-Trump content with almost 190 million followers.
Photoshopped photographs of Harris have also surfaced. One photo of Harris smiling with her husband was altered to make it appear like the vice president was posing with Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased financier and accused sex trafficker.
In the hours following Biden’s revelation, the hashtag “She’s Indian” trended on X, with some users spreading a false rumor about Harris being “not Black” (Harris’ mother was born in India and her father in Jamaica).
PeakMetrics, a social media analytics firm, examined approximately 175,000 posts on X between 6 and 7 p.m. ET on Sunday that addressed Harris about Biden’s statement and discovered that 8.3% of the postings used “racialized” language, while 4.5% used “sexualized” language.
Biden’s likeness was also utilized following his announcement, which was made via a social media post rather than a broadcast address. A bogus, expletive-laden video purporting to show Biden announcing his decision to withdraw from the race began circulating on X.
PBS News, whose logo appeared in the video, issued a statement labeling it a ” deep fake,” adding, “PBS News did not authorize the use of this video, and we do not condone altering news video or audio in any way that could mislead the audience.”
Pro-Harris videos flooded TikTok, with many citing a coconut joke that has become synonymous with support for her candidacy. (In 2023, Harris delivered a speech on expanding chances for Hispanic Americans that featured a statement attributed to her mother on understanding the context of young people’s lives: “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?”) One TikTok video, a compilation of Harris memes, had almost 712,000 likes and 73,000 shares.
Harris’ crew has also embraced a popular post by British pop singer Charli XCX, who referred to Harris as a “brat,” a phrase encompassing women’s and LGBTQ+ empowerment.
As Harris Moves To Secure The Democratic Nomination, Misinformation Follows Soon After Online
Russian official media also quickly responded to Biden’s decision to withdraw. Sputnik, one of several pro-Kremlin mouthpieces, wrongly claimed in a tweet that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had been a “curse” to Biden.
“I don’t think Kremlin-aligned accounts will drive conversations related to this news,” said Joseph Bodnar, a researcher who studies pro-Kremlin media for CNN. “But they’re certainly happy to boost divisive domestic narratives.”
“Imagine being a foreign disinfo/information operations actor trying to compete with the actual news this election cycle,” joked Shane Huntley, a cyber threat intelligence expert at Google, on X.
SOURCE | CNN
