🧵of tips to help you at the ballot box and scrolling social media today – specifically for those who are new to or nervous about voting. First of all, get excited! It’s every voter’s civic duty to participate in democracy. Take a deep breath. You got this! 💪 #ElectionDay Want more info? vote411.org/select-state has state-specific details for voting, along with instructions on how to get a free ride to the polls from @lyft.

This morning, trusted news outlets confirmed that Russia attacked Ukraine. During any global crisis, you’ll see visceral images and videos on social media claiming to show bombing, tanks — military action. Now more than ever, you need to stop and ask @SHEG_Stanford’s 3 Q’s:

https://twitter.com/AP/status/1496729509709717512

First, when you see a post like this one, ask yourself: Who shared it? Are they an expert? Are they biased toward one side of the conflict?

The queen, my lord, is… not dead. Yesterday Twitter was abuzz after #HollywoodUnlocked published an “exclusive” claiming Queen Elizabeth II died. Good news: Several reputable news sources denied the claim. Bad news: This isn’t the last time we’ll see a celebrity death hoax🧵 We’re @MediaWise, and we teach people all over the world how to be smarter consumers of news and information online. Long story short, we know a thing or two about how to make sure the info you’re reading online is legit.

The Knight Media Forum just started and ✌️ of our very own MediaWise ambassadors will be panelists today 👀 @JulioVaqueiro will be on a panel talking about misinfo in communities of color and @davejorgenson will be on another sharing his expertise on reaching the youth. .@JulioVaqueiro became an ambassador this year as part of our efforts to help Spanish speakers confidently navigate their social media feeds. In a 10-day text message course, he and @jdbalart share key digital media literacy tips. poy.nu/verifica

Right now you’re probably seeing hundreds of photos and videos from the chaotic scene on #CapitolHill at the #CapitolBuilding. Or are you? When protestors began streaming into D.C. yesterday, an unverified Twitter account with less than 1,000 followers shared a photo claiming to show the action that racked up more than 14,000 RTs. It’s false.

Social media is hitting a fever pitch about the lockdown at the #CapitolBuilding. Please STOP before you click retweet or re-share anything you see on this subject and ask yourself these 3 key questions to fact-check it and prevent yourself from sharing misinformation... (THREAD) 1. WHO IS BEHIND THE INFORMATION? Click on their bio. Are they an expert on the subject // verified? Why should you trust what they say? Any indications they have an agenda? Any bot-like activity on their account? If you have an extra sec, Google them. Any red flags?

#CapitolHill is on lockdown. This is a breaking news situation and a VERY important time to slow down, take a breath and be diligent about how you find reliable information and get the facts on social media. (THREAD) STEP 1: Check your emotions. This is a highly volatile situation and emotionally charged moment. It's crucial that you take a step back and make sure your emotions are not clouding your judgment as you try to figure out what is going on.

This video is misleading, and it’s a good reminder that misinformation is easy to check.

So, how could you have investigated this clip to see whether it really shows @JoeBiden admitting to voter fraud? Just google what he said.

https://twitter.com/NCGOP/status/1326162999514640385

Searching for “We have put together, I think, the most extensive and inclusive voter fraud organization in the history of American politics” brought up a bunch of results, including articles from @washingtonpost, @USATODAY and @nytimes.

You’ve probably heard that pharmaceutical company @pfizer has announced that early analysis of its coronavirus vaccine suggests that the vaccine is more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19. nytimes.com/2020/11/09/hea… There has already been A LOT of speculation about the timing of the announcement and #Election2020. REMEMBER: speculation without evidence is how baseless conspiracy theories are born.

Early this morning, @realDonaldTrump announced that he and @FLOTUS tested positive for COVID-19. Since then, there has been A LOT of speculation and reactions circulating. REMEMBER: this is a developing, breaking-news story. Here’s what to do and what NOT to do to follow it:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1311892190680014849

Read AT LEAST 3-4 reliable sources. When possible, seek out primary sources too. This includes updates from the @WhiteHouse or the @JoeBiden campaign on contact tracing. The more sources you read, the better you’ll understand the facts and the full scope of the story.

If you didn’t fact-check this tweet from @JimDabakis, you might be a bit confused by the news that @MittRomney plans to vote on a Supreme Court nominee.

This tweet popped up hours after RBG died Friday. Did you question it using #medialiteracy?

https://twitter.com/JimDabakis/status/1307120855454044160

Sure hope ya did!

When you see someone making controversial claims -- things that make you react emotionally -- you gotta check the facts.

So how to verify this one? Look to primary sources.

There’s less than 50 days left until #Election2020 🗓️. In other words, you’re running out of time ⏳ to request your absentee ballot 🗳️ . Confused? You’re not alone. But worry not, we’re here to help! #MVP2020 🗳️ Check your local Supervisor of Elections website to (a) see if you’re eligible to vote absentee and (b) find out the deadline to request your ballot. ⚠️ HEADS UP ⚠️ EVERY STATE HAS DIFFERENT DEADLINES FOR REQUESTING BALLOTS ONLINE AND BY MAIL.

Before you vote in #Election2020, you should know there are loads of distorted facts out there meant to sway your vote. If sorting facts from fiction feels impossible, then it’s time to try lateral reading. Check out this video and thread to see how it works 🧵👇 @SHEG_Stanford To understand the information you’re reading, you need to put it in context. Start by diving into the internet rabbit hole 🐇 🕳️ and reading what different sources are saying. Open up multiple tabs so it’s easy to compare each source.

Today, MediaWise is proud to announce that we’re teaming up with nine other fact-checking organizations through @factchecknet to fight misinformation and disinformation this election season. 🗳️ poynter.org/ifcn/2020/poyn… This partnership will bring together U.S.-based journalists and fact-checkers in a bilingual alliance to give voters 🗳️ the information they need to make their decisions based on facts, not fiction.

Last week, @USPS sent postcards to some voters that offered tips for voting by mail. But, since every state has different rules for voting by mail, some of these tips don’t apply to voters in each state.

https://twitter.com/JenaGriswold/status/1304607922719088640?s=20

Colorado sends every voter a mail-in ballot. So, voters do NOT need to request a ballot, despite @USPS' recommendation to request ballots 15 days before the election. 9news.com/article/news/p…

(Might be worse than ghosts tbh)

Cheap fakes are here.

GOP officials shared a series of easily altered, misleading videos targeting @JoeBiden. Let’s check them out and talk about how to avoid falling victim to misinformation: White House social media director @DanScavino shared a video of Biden falling asleep during a local TV interview… that never happened.

Here’s the local TV interview the video really came from:

https://twitter.com/JohnDabkovich/status/1300421394895794177

🚘 BUCKLE UP 🚘 The road to accurate information can be a bumpy one, but it doesn’t have to be. If you’re a first-time voter struggling to sort fact from fiction, start by asking yourself these three questions developed by @SHEG_Stanford. 1️⃣ Who is behind the information? A quick detour 🚧 to someone’s bio to see who they are won’t slow you down that much and it will help you determine if you can trust what they’re saying.

NEW AMBASSADOR ALERT! BUT WAIT...There’s 3 of them! We’re so happy to announce that @margbrennan, @IAmAmnaNawaz, and @JessicaYellin are joining the MediaWise Voter Project as MediaWise ambassadors! #MVP2020 .@margbrennan is the moderator for @FaceTheNation and the senior foreign affairs correspondent for @CBSNews. Here’s why she’s supporting the project… #MVP2020

*gets horse, puts on Paul Revere outfit*

THE CHEAP FAKES ARE COMING!

Well actually they’re here… GOP officials recently shared some easily altered, misleading videos targeting @JoeBiden. Let’s check them out and talk about how to avoid falling victim to #misinformation: White House social media director @DanScavino shared a vid of Biden falling asleep during an interview… that never happened.

The news clip came from a 2011 local TV interview. Biden’s image was spliced in from another interview and snores were added too.
reuters.com/article/uk-fac…

🚨ATTENTION FIRST TIME VOTERS!🚨 Want to know how to prep for the polls as a first-time voter this election season? Step one: take this free text message course from the MediaWise Voter Project! (#MVP2020) poynter.org/mediawise-vote… FACT: More than 15 million Americans have become eligible to cast ballots since the last presidential election. But that doesn’t mean anything if they don’t vote. 🤷‍♀️ That’s why #MVP is ready to give you the knowledge and resources you need to cast your ballot. 🗳️

ICYMI: Russia is trying to undermine U.S. elections by promoting false allegations that #MailInVoting will lead to widespread fraud. However, it’s been proven that mail-in voting does NOT lead to fraud. npr.org/2020/08/01/898… It’s always a great idea to get information from MULTIPLE sources for a story this big. Luckily we compiled a few of them for you. Check them out in the next few tweets!