This is not Fake News

Learn How to Protect the Upcoming Elections

You do not want to miss this educational opportunity about the threats

to the upcoming elections and what you can do to do help.

This is not Fake News. We should be aware and be concerned.

Join Nick Penniman IV, of Naples, and his son, Nick Penniman V,

for a lively insider discussion.

Nick V is the founder of a national, bipartisan democracy advocacy group called Issue One. He's been working on election protection since 2019. Nick IV is the board chair of Florida Center for Government Accountability and has been helping lead efforts to expose corruption in the "sunshine state." He also serves as a founding board member of NewsGuard, a global company that specializes in fighting disinformation. Together, they'll preview what they believe are the greatest challenges to November's elections, and suggest ways everyday citizens can help reduce those threats.

They'll provide real-world examples and tested solutions. 

Election Integrity

Thursday, Sept. 19

7 PM – 8:30 PM EST

Virtual Program: Register here

Prior to founding Issue One, Nick Penniman V was the founder and executive director of the Huffington Post Investigative Fund, director of the Schuman Center for Media and Democracy, publisher of the Washington Monthly Magazine, director of the Alliance for Democracy, and an editor at various publications, including the American Prospect and the Lincoln Journal. He is coauthor of “Nation on the Take: How Big Money Corrupts Our Democracy And What We Can Do About It,” and writes and appears regularly in various mainstream national media outlets. Nick V is a philosophy graduate of St. Lawrence University.

Nicholas G. Penniman IV is a resident of Naples and former publisher of the St. Louis Post- Dispatch. He has been deeply involved in environmental advocacy work; he served as chair of American Rivers and chair of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida in Naples. He is the author of numerous books about conservation and politics in Florida, including the just-published "Gutter Politics" about the influence of political money on the recent elections in Naples. Nick IV is a graduate of Princeton University, did graduate work at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania, and received an M.A. in American Culture Studies from Washington University. 

How Did We Get Here? One example of many.

Russian brainwashing. Well, sort of. The US Department of Justice released documents recently to to explain its seizure of 32 internet domains being used by Russian agents in foreign influence smear campaigns.

Doppelganger is a Russia-aligned disinformation campaign which uses AI-generated content on dozens of fake websites designed to impersonate mainstream media outlets as well as a network of fake social media accounts to spread Russian propaganda and influence the election. The plan created sleeper cells on social media in swing states which would push bogus stories at key moments.

It’s a sprawling plan using targeted ads, AI, analytics and paid influencers. Tenet Media, an organization that features a slate of right-wing commentators was named in the Justice Department’s indictments. YouTube took down their channels, and Tenet Media abruptly shut down.

Video-producing teams were told to “use a minimum of fake news and a maximum of realistic information… [and] continuously repeat that this is what is really happening, but the official media will never tell you about it or show it to you.”

What You Can Do

FactCheck.org monitors factual accuracy and focuses on dispelling claims that are false or misleading. Check out their misinformation directory. It is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania and a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network at the Poynter Institute. It’s a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics.

Is Florida really a case study in the threat of fascism in America? With only a month before the election, this is the program you won't want to miss.

If anyone is going to give it to you straight, it's Rick Wilson. The co-founder of Lincoln Project, political consultant, and all-around firebrand will kick off the program virtually to share his perspectives and answer your questions. If you have questions for Rick, send them to: info@floridiansfordemocracy.org. Subject: Questions for Rick Wilson.

David Silverberg

Now a Naples resident, David Silverberg brings his extensive experience as a writer and editor in DC to his blog, The Paradise Progressive.

A doctor, executive and advisor for Choose Democracy Now, Dr. Dale Anderson helps organize democracy activists in Sarasota.

They will discuss the MAGA impacts on Sarasota and Collier Counties and how their communities and Florida are already "laboratories" for Project 2025. 

Dale Anderson

In-Person: Register here

In-person activities begin at 1pm with social time, table talk and snacks. Program 2-3:30

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Greater Naples, 6340 Napa Woods Way, Naples, FL

Virtual Program: Register here

Virtual Program starts at 2pm

Floridians for Democracy is a 501c4 organization. We envision a state of Florida where all elected leaders proactively implement laws ensuring all residents have equal opportunity, regardless of race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation as granted by democratic freedoms dictated in the constitution. We collaborate with others to protect and preserve democracy.