Thread by @stephenmfee

Starting now! Our partnership with @postlive and a conversation on disinformation with #JamesClapper @alynnbryant @GrahamBrookie and our own @SuzanneNossel! washingtonpost.com/washington-pos…

@postlive @AlynnBryant @GrahamBrookie @SuzanneNossel "This is an ideal time for adversaries...to look for ways to further confuse us, to distract us, and of course you can bet our good friends the Russians are doing this by further sowing seeds of disinformation," says Clapper.

Clapper: "I think a lot has been done to secure the voting apparatus...acknowledging the fact that it's very decentralized." Says that is both a strength and a weakness. Makes broad scale interference more difficult. CC @LarryNorden @lizlhoward

@LarryNorden @lizlhoward Clapper says fake postings on social to "mislead, to suppress voting...I do worry about that." But says voting infrastructure itself is hard to alter. "I worry more about the cognitive security."

"One of the things we all need to be is patient," urges Clapper. He says he doesn't know exactly what people should do to protect themselves from #disinformation. But we @PENamerica have some thoughts! #WhatToExpect2020 pen.org/whattoexpect

Clapper says he tells his students not to believe everything they see or hear online. "All of us as citizens need to do that." Here are some of our fave authors and luminaries urging you to spot, check, and stop disinformation in its tracks.

Clapper says he's concerned about politicization of US intelligence community. If you produce intelligence that's counter to the president's worldview right now, that "puts you in a bad place...has subtle inhibitions on what intelligence flows on particular topics."

"Important for the American people to see key leaders of the intelligence community," says Clapper of current DNI Ratcliffe's decision not to continue global threat assessment briefings.

Next up: Our CEO @SuzanneNossel with @WajahatAli on how @PENamerica is tackling #disinformation. Tune in! washingtonpost.com/washington-pos…

@SuzanneNossel @WajahatAli @PENamerica Why is #disinformation a free speech issue? "We have seen [disinformation] weaponized...about the coronavirus, coming from within partisan sources here in this country. For us...this undercuts our very purpose."

"When the marketplace is flooded with disinformation...that process is undercut. We don't know what we're reading...what to credit and what not to credit. We have to be skeptical about everything we see and hear," says our CEO @SuzanneNossel.

Suzanne says "the best offense is a good defense," that we need to inoculate Americans against the scourge of disinformation. Where can you find out how best to verify and stop bad information on the web? We got tip sheets for that! #WhatToExpect2020 pen.org/whattoexpect

Suzanne says you can watch the video I posted earlier, plus you can take our VERY spiffy quiz. whattoexpect.pen.org

How are we all supposed to fight back when disinformation is coming from the White House?

"It's extremely important that as voters, we set about to get the accurate information...We'll direct you to sources that are credible."

pen.org is a good place to start!

"We really all need to be on guard," says @SuzanneNossel. Great advice. Join us in the fight. pen.org/whattoexpect #WhatToExpect2020

Now up: @GrahamBrookie and @_alynnbryant to talk about disinformation and how it's targeting particularly Black and brown voters. washingtonpost.com/washington-pos…

@GrahamBrookie @_alynnbryant Scope and scale of DOMESTIC disinformation is much greater than foreign adversaries. Doesn't mean that we shouldn't concern ourselves with foreign adversaries, says @GrahamBrookie

"This is just a continuation of voter suppression tactics. It's not different than poll taxes, literacy tests...disinformation to suppress the Black and brown vote," says @_alynnbryant.

@_alynnbryant "We're also seeing operatives that are posing as Black activists, that are using cultural language that is relevant to the Black and Latinx communities and building these communities on Facebook, Insta, and Twitter...but ultimately trying to suppress the vote," says @_alynnbryant

"The point of disinformation is to drive us further away than closer together." A democracy depends on a shared set of facts, says @GrahamBrookie, and disinformation is "designed to seep through the cracks of any policy designed to stop it."

"With increased scrutiny tactics change," says @GrahamBrookie. In 2016 there was a hack and leak operation led by Russia and online activity and driving up online engagement; in 2018 putting that into the real world. In 2020, we see all those tactics.

@GrahamBrookie How many Black voters could be affected by disinformation?

Clear that Trump campaign in 2016 targeted 3.5m Black voters to "dissuade and deter" folks from going to the polls, says @_alynnbryant. "We actually have to educate voters on how to spot this."

"The fact that voting has become a partisan issue has shown where we've gotten to as a country...no different than where we've been," says @_alynnbryant. Building infrastructure to fight back against this disinformation and deterrence.

The same science that goes into building a sense of community on social media can also go into protecting our democracy, protecting the voices of real folks, and protecting us from #disinformation, says @_alynnbryant.

Social media companies are getting good at noting "coordinated inauthentic behavior," says @GrahamBrookie. That said, platforms themselves are reactive to "political disinformation," such as that spread by the president whose re-election strategy is based on disinformation.

Can we ever truly combat this in real time?

"I don't know if I have the magical answer...there are steps we can take," says @_alynnbryant. "We shouldn't be okay with FB or Twitter being vigilant around COVID but not vigilant around death threats."

"There has to be an acknowledgment of handling information equally no matter who is targeted...if it is deemed false, if it is deemed disinformation...then it should be handled equally across the board," says @_alynnbryant.

"The scale and scope of [disinformation] activity from Russia is great than any other foreign adversary," says @GrahamBrookie. Typically China has shown less aggressive approach, more present and persuade. Trying to get agreement rather than chaos. Same with Iran.

@GrahamBrookie "Everyone's skeptical of everything right now. Rightfully so," says @_alynnbryant. "It's harder when it's coming from the top...It has caused this deep cynicism in voters." She says she hopes people come out of this with better instincts, more skeptical and analytical.

"We're not just going to allow people to withdraw...to take this cynicism and turn it into education." @_alynnbryant encouraging folks to compile credible sources, and start to build in this instinct that you know something is fake. "I'm going to ignore this and find the facts."

@_alynnbryant And that's a wrap! HUGE thanks to @postlive for an incredible series of conversations about #disinformation. And please check out our #WhatToExpect2020 initiative. pen.org/whattoexpect