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Dealing with post-election disinformation
Are you dealing with misinformation or disinformation in your community after Election Day? Here are some resources to help.
Areas of the state with tight races that have led to recounts may be getting hit with disinformation. The News Literacy Project is tracking trends in misinformation about election integrity. You can find information on trends over time, what’s gaining traction at the moment and tips for debunking the falsehoods on their misinformation dashboard.
Those who attended the Minnesota Journalism Center’s RTDNA/Google News election training will remember how useful the Rolli app can be in tracking disinformation spreaders. Rolli has built an election dashboard for candidates’ social media engagement. (Use the code JOURNOAI when you set up an account to get instant access, which is free for journalists.)
Election Urgent Care: Connecting U.S. journalists to tools and resources in the post-election period is a project of the Knight Election Hub, Votebeat and Hearken to support and connect news organizations that are dealing with post-election challenges. You can find legal support, security information, help with data gathering and advice on how to handle disinformation.
Trusting News is also working on the project and is “offering free support to help newsrooms draft responses to election questions, accusations, and misinformation.” Here’s a Google doc with cut-and-paste language for responding to questions about election misinformation.
If you’re looking for ways to show off your newsroom’s fact-checks, RumorGuard does a nice job of laying out their fact-checking efforts, like this one, focused on whether states are cheating if they didn’t have results on election night.
Safety and security
This election has the potential to do a lot of damage to a free press. The Columbia Journalism Review’s article, “Trump Wins, the Press Loses,” lays out some ways we can prepare for what’s ahead. Among the possible scenarios: It could be a difficult time for journalist safety (particularly for photo- and video journalists); broadcasters may see changes from the FCC; and the list goes on.
A report from the Committee to Protect Journalists, “On Edge: What the US election could mean for journalists and global press freedom,” that came out last month lays out even more potential problems ahead. | Related: Trump campaign denies and revokes journalists’ election night credentials after critical coverage – CNN Business
If you or your staff are being harassed or threatened, there are places offering help:
Trust and avoidance
One of the takeaways from Tuesday’s election results for some commentators is that the “mainstream media” has lost the trust of the American public. “If half the country has decided that Trump is qualified to be president, that means they’re not reading any of this media, and we’ve lost this audience completely,” one TV executive told New York magazine’s Charlotte Klein. A recent Gallup poll shows media trust remains at an all-time low.
On the upside, a Pew study found that people trust their local media more than they trust the national media.
This is a topic that’s also important to our research colleagues at the MJC. Ben Toff weighs in on his study of news avoidance in an article from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. | Why millions of Americans avoid the news – and what it means for the US election
It’s important that we don’t despair, and that we find ways to improve those relationships. At the Minnesota Journalism Center, we’re developing programs to help – and there are plenty of efforts across the industry that give cause for hope.
Press Forward Announces Grants to Minnesota Organizations
Eight news organizations in Minnesota received Press Forward grants as part of its latest open call around “Closing Local Coverage Gaps”:
Congrats to all!
Press Forward is a national coalition of philanthropic donors and foundations seeking to coordinate and expand funding to “strengthen local newsrooms, close longstanding gaps in journalism coverage, advance public policy that expands access to local news, and to scale the infrastructure the sector needs to thrive.”
Find more information and a complete list of recipients around the country on the Press Forward website. | Related: Press Forward awards $20 million to 205 small local newsrooms – NiemanLab
The Minnesota chapter of Press Forward has also initiated its own open call for proposals, focused on “Closing Coverage Gaps.” Applications are due Nov. 21.
Local connections
Remembering Pioneer Press photojournalist John Doman, a friend to many of us. There will be a celebration of his life on Saturday, Nov. 30, at 2 p.m. at Bad Weather Brewing Company in St. Paul.
Congratulations to Minnesota’s many Upper Midwest Emmy Award winners, including folks at KARE 11, Vikings Entertainment Network, KTTC, WDAY, KSTP, KBJR, Town Square Television, WCCO, Pioneer PBS, NDC4, PBS North, Ron Schara Productions, Twin Cities PBS, KMSP, HiFly’n Productions, 515 Productions, BLCK Press, CCX Media/Northwest Community Television, Midco Sports and SWCTC. Sheletta Brundidge received the governor’s award for her work creating, and then covering, Black Entrepreneurs Day at the Capitol. The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences-Upper Midwest Chapter also awarded Jodi Ritacca Carlini (Carlini Entertainment) Gold Circle honors and Bill Sherck (Minnesota Bound/Ron Schara Productions) Silver Circle honors at the awards ceremony in October.
Odds and Ends
A few stories you might find interesting…
Congress fights to keep AM radio in cars – NiemanLab
Bridging Cultural Gaps: Hispanic Media in the Modern Newsroom – PR Newswire’s Beyond Bylines
Science Reporting Quick Tips – The Open Notebook
Launching News Product AI Collaboration Lab: Bridging the gap between local community needs and journalism products – News Product Alliance
-- Regina
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