LWVNC Guidance on Mis- and Disinformation

January 2024

LWVNC asks all members and League management to be aware of the risk of election mis- and disinformation and to carefully consider partnering opportunities with outside organizations.

Groups promoting disinformation about voters, voting and elections are looking for ways to spread mistruths about election security and voters’ rights, and they will try to use the League to spread their messages. We cannot provide these organizations with a platform to spread inaccurate and misleading information.

We are familiar with groups that are actively promoting false narratives about election security and the administration of elections. Some of these organizations are affiliated with political parties while some claim nonpartisanship. The assertion of nonpartisanship is not sufficient criteria for working with these organizations, either as an invited speaker or a co-sponsor at a LWV event.

If you have questions about partnerships or working relationships with organizations, please contact LWVNC. Local leagues that disregard this guidance risk reputational damage both to LWVNC and to their local efforts to recruit members and build community partnerships.

LWVNC supports and actively promotes the LWV guidance on mis- and disinformation. Here is that guidance:

The American people, and especially disenfranchised communities, are constantly bombarded with lies and misleading information about our election system, public policies, and government actions. These falsehoods fuel attacks on voting rights and sow distrust in our democratic processes.

False narratives about our democracy continue to spread and require countering with trusted, factual information that does not repeat the falsehoods. Until we address the underlying narrative that is driving these falsehoods, we will continue to see attacks on voting rights and disinformation seeking to sow distrust in our election system and limit voter participation.

We combat mis and disinformation by getting ahead of any falsehoods and flooding the public and voters with trusted information that builds confidence about voting and in our elections. We can get ahead of bad messaging by inoculating with good information. As much as possible, spread the right message widely before false accusations can be made.

Misinformation is vast and ever-changing. No one organization can catch everything, and indeed not every piece of misinformation deserves a response. But the role we can play is to mitigate the spread of falsehoods by building trust in our elections and spreading good information.

Additional Guidance from LWVAB

Administrators should exercise the same vigilance when liking, sharing, posting, reposting, etc. on LWVAB social media platforms. Members should also keep this in mind for their own social media platforms.