October 2020

Saturday, 31 October 2020

The Battlegrounds Within Battlegrounds

By BY KEITH COLLINS, TRIP GABRIEL AND STEPHANIE SAUL from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2TJBvJP

Celebrities lend Biden a hand in turning out the vote in Philadelphia.

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By BY NICK CORASANITI from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3jPB3US

BBC NEWS

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Joe Biden is in Michigan while Donald Trump arrives in Pennsylvania, both key to the White House race.

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Covid: What will the England lockdown achieve?

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Lockdown is the measure nobody "wanted" but now many European countries have decided they "need".

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Covid-19: Austria and Portugal announce restrictions

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A number of European countries are enforcing new measures as cases continue to rise.

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Oleksandr Usyk beats Derek Chisora on points in stylish display

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Oleksandr Usyk earns a unanimous points win over Derek Chisora at Wembley Arena to underline his credentials at heavyweight.

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Typhoon Goni: Philippines hit by year's most powerful storm

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Torrential rain and "catastrophic violent winds" are expected on the main island of Luzon on Sunday.

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Your pictures on the theme of 'urban living'

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A selection of pictures from our readers on the theme of "urban living".

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Salvaged Victorian signal box to become museum

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It became redundant in 2016 along with others in the East Midlands.

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The Miraculous Love Kids: Street kids changing their lives with guitars

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The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson is just one star who's recorded with a group of girls from Afghanistan.

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Sunday's gossip: Inter willing to sell Eriksen

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Inter open to offers for Eriksen, Jones fears loan move could be scuppered, Isco wants Everton move, plus more.

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Match of the Day: Alan Shearer and Danny Murphy on how Diogo Jota & Xherdan Shaqiri helped Liverpool beat West Ham

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Match of the Day pundits Alan Shearer and Danny Murphy analyse the impact of Liverpool's substitutes Diogo Jota and Xherdan Shaqiri during their 2-1 win over West Ham.

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The Battlegrounds Within Battlegrounds

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By BY KEITH COLLINS, TRIP GABRIEL AND STEPHANIE SAUL from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2TJBvJP

Celebrities lend Biden a hand in turning out the vote in Philadelphia.

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By BY NICK CORASANITI from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3jPB3US

Stanford Study Seeks to Quantify Infections Stemming From Trump Rallies

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By BY SHERYL GAY STOLBERG from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/35Pg9QV

Stanford Study Seeks to Quantify Infections Stemming From Trump Rallies

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By BY SHERYL GAY STOLBERG from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/35Pg9QV

Senator Kelly Loeffler of Georgia, facing opponents from both parties, embraces Trumpism.

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By BY RICHARD FAUSSET from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3jH3O61

Police in North Carolina use a chemical spray to disperse a get-out-the-vote rally.

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By BY MICHAEL LEVENSON from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/323ZGY2

George Shultz Speaks Out for Renewing U.S. Leadership Overseas

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By BY PETER BAKER from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3ecdy7r

BBC NEWS

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Just ahead of the election, the US is seeing what could be the largest outbreak of the pandemic so far.

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BBC NEWS

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Former prisoner Davion Hampton from Florida wants to vote in this US election. But he can't.

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BBC NEWS

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Chenren and Cathy Shao haven't let political differences get in the way of their eight-year marriage.

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BBC NEWS

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For some Americans, civil unrest after police shootings is driving their support for Donald Trump.

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N.E.H. Funds Restoration of Statues Toppled During Protests

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Trump, in Minnesota, lashes out at Democrats for limiting crowd sizes.

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By BY ANNIE KARNI from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3mEgxIy

Nursing Homes, Racked by the Virus, Face a New Crisis: Isolation

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By BY JACK HEALY, DANIELLE IVORY AND SERGE F. KOVALESKI from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2TCEnIb

BBC NEWS

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Everyone in Slovakia over the age of 10 is to be tested for Covid - but the president is sceptical.

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BBC NEWS

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Non-essential shops will close until mid-December to help curb the highest infection rate in Europe.

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BBC NEWS

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Berlin's new airport is finally opening to the public, 10 years behind schedule and billions over budget.

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How to Take On the Tech Barons

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By BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/3ednnlm

A judge orders the Postal Service to take ‘extraordinary measures’ to deliver ballots on time in 22 districts.

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By BY LUKE BROADWATER AND HAILEY FUCHS from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2HQCHbo

N.E.H. Funds Restoration of Statues Toppled During Protests

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By Unknown Author from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/3eaLEIK

Trump, in Minnesota, lashes out at Democrats for limiting crowd sizes.

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By BY ANNIE KARNI from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3mEgxIy

Nursing Homes, Racked by the Virus, Face a New Crisis: Isolation

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By BY JACK HEALY, DANIELLE IVORY AND SERGE F. KOVALESKI from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2TCEnIb

Voters suing Minnesota over a mask mandate are asking the Supreme Court to intervene.

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By BY JACEY FORTIN from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2JeAC9Y

Covid: When will it be over and we can do this again?

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Christmas? Spring? A return to life as we knew it could be quite a long way off.

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'Millions face hardship' as government support ends

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Renters and the self employed could be among those facing tough times this winter, charities warn.

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The Papers: 'National lockdown looms' and Stiles tributes

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Several of Saturday's papers lead with reports that nationwide restrictions will be introduced.

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Voters suing Minnesota over a mask mandate are asking the Supreme Court to intervene.

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By BY JACEY FORTIN from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2JeAC9Y

Time Running Short, Trump and Biden Return to Northern Battlegrounds

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By BY THOMAS KAPLAN AND ANNIE KARNI from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3eeng93

Woman Who Mailed Threat to Susan Collins Gets 30 Months in Prison

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By BY JOHN ISMAY from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/31XgW0Z

¿Quién ganará Florida, Biden o Trump? Esto dicen las encuestas

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By BY GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO from NYT en Español https://ift.tt/2JnWsbi

Political Satire Isn’t Dead. It’s Been Turned Into Horror Stories.

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By BY ANNALEE NEWITZ from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/3jGKgP9

Glimmers of Hope for a Winter With Tropical Travel

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By BY CATHERINE PORTER from NYT World https://ift.tt/2HN23qM

How to Spot Disinformation Around Election Day—And What to Do About It

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With Nov. 3 just a few days away, unreliable and false information around the U.S. election process is swirling. A recent report from media watchdog group NewsGuard found that misinformation related to election security and voting has been “flourishing” online, and experts expect that could intensify further in the run-up to Election Day.

There are, however, several steps you can take to protect yourself and your community against false and misleading information.

First, a quick rundown of terms. Misinformation means false information that people share without realizing it’s false. That “can be like your mom shares something with you out of love because she’s worried about you,” but that information is still wrong, says Aimee Rinehart, U.S. deputy director of First Draft News, a nonprofit that works to fight mis- and disinformation online.

Disinformation, on the other hand, is false information that’s intentionally spread to mislead people, such as the falsehoods spread by Russian operatives in the 2016 general election.

Misinformation and disinformation may continue to proliferate during and after Election Day, due in part to the unique circumstances in which Americans are voting. Due to changes made to election systems to protect Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic, many states might not be able to report their completed results by Election Night, or even for several days after Nov. 3.

For those trying to sow chaos or doubt in the U.S. electoral process, uncertainty is an opportunity. “Be prepared for some serious uncertainty on Election Day, moreso than probably any election in our lifetime,” says Jevin West, an associate professor at the Information School at the University of Washington and the Director of the Center for An Informed Public. “It’s during uncertain times when misinformation or disinformation propagate the most.”

What are some common types of election misinformation or disinformation?

False information about how to vote

Emma Llansó, director of the Free Expression Project at the nonprofit Center For Democracy and Technology (CDT), which analyzes how disinformation spreads online, says they’ve seen a lot of what they label “voter suppression information”—false information about how, when, and where to vote as well as related to other rules and procedures around voting. (Voters cannot cast a ballot after Nov. 3 and cannot submit a vote via phone, text, email or tweet, for example, contrary to some of the false information being shared.)

Since so many people are voting a new way this year, “some of this stuff doesn’t sound so crazy anymore,” says Jesse Littlewood, vice president of campaigns at the nonpartisan nonprofit Common Cause. “And we have unfortunately seen some bad actors weaponize that and say, ‘because of the coronavirus or because of social distancing, certain people need to vote after the election has concluded.’” Littlewood recommends consulting the nonpartisan National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS)’s website canivote.org for up-to-date information on your state’s rules.

False information about election integrity

Littlewood cites a growing trend in mis- and disinformation calling into question the security of vote-by-mail systems. Despite false claims by President Donald Trump and others that vote-by-mail is prone to fraud, evidence shows that vote-by-mail is safe and secure, he stresses.

West at the University of Washington says his center has also tracked false narratives around ballot harvesting and mail-dumping that are “all feeding into this [false] idea that we may not be able to trust the election.”

He recommends readers be especially skeptical about cherry-picked images presented as evidence of ballot-related fraud, such as of a pile of mail sitting in a ditch or a voter dropping multiple ballots off at a drop-box. Those images are oftentimes presented out of context, and could be from a different election, a different time or even a different country, he says.

False information about safety at polling places

Llansó of CDT says false information that might raise voters’ concerns about safety at their polling location is also proliferating, whether because of COVID-19-related concerns, threats of political violence or an excessive law enforcement presence.

“There’s a long history of information about potential violence at polling places being used as a tactic to discourage people from going and casting their ballot,” she explains. She recommends being skeptical of reports and to make sure to check them with trusted, nonpartisan news sources.

False information about election results

On Election Night itself, be selective about who you trust to project winners, West says. Whether you’re seeing information from a social media connection or a candidate themselves, be sure to cross-check any call with official election administrators, particularly before sharing it.

“There will be armchair pollsters and predictors, so be careful [to not] spread something that doesn’t come from an actual official,” he urges.

How can I spot election misinformation or disinformation?

“It really comes down to language,” says Rinehart of First Draft News.

What type of language does the post use? Is it alarmist? Are there exclamation points? Reliable news sources don’t tend to use those in headlines. “Maybe it makes you angry or makes you laugh out loud,” Rinehart continues. “Those are signs that something in there is meant to trigger you and it’s meant to have you share it.”

First Draft News offers a free 14 day SMS course on how to protect yourself from online misinformation in English and in Spanish, as well as a newsletter that pre-bunks (or preemptively de-bunks) false information they see spreading online.

A best practice is to pause and ask yourself: Does this make sense? Who is behind this information? How outlandish does it seem? Consult fact-checking websites such as Snopes or Politifact, or the U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)’s “Rumor Control” webpage that pre-bunks areas of potential disinformation.

Also keep an eye out also for fake accounts, says Maria Bianchi, vice president of program and product at the nonprofit Democracy Works. If an account looks like someone famous or official but it isn’t verified, proceed with caution. If it’s a brand new account, that’s another reason to be suspicious.

Put more trust in new sources with stronger journalistic standards, Common Cause’s Littlewood says. “There is a cottage industry of websites, Facebook pages and other social media assets that appear to be journalists and news organizations, but really are partisan operations designed to push a particular point of view,” he explains.

What should I do if I spot misinformation or disinformation?

The main thing is not to amplify it, Littlewood urges. If it’s online, don’t share it—not even to point out it’s wrong. If it’s something a friend or family member shared, you should also consider reaching out and let them know it’s false.

Instead, report the false information to the platform on which you saw it—most social media companies and search engines have some form of a reporting process—as well as to an elections official who can get an alert out to voters to pre-bunk it.

You can also report it to a nonpartisan voter protection group’s tracking system like Common Cause’s reportdisinfo.org. You could also call the nonpartisan Election Protection coalition at 866-OUR-VOTE, or bring the information to a local newsroom or fact-checking website.

If the disinformation is threatening, says Rinehart, you can also involve the authorities.

How can I know if I can trust election information?

One of the best ways you can inoculate yourself from election mis- and disinformation is to learn how the election works in your state in advance, says Bianchi of Democracy Works. Check election information with the government agency that oversees the election in your jurisdiction—this could be your local Board of Elections, elections official or Secretary of State. Be aware that election laws and rules vary by state, so what you read about one state might not apply to your situation.

NASS’s website canivote.org has reliable information on how to vote in your jurisdiction, and the CISA’s “Rumor Control” webpage pre-bunks areas of potential disinformation.

Littlewood also suggests checking the URL of the website you’re consulting. If it has a “.gov” URL, that means it’s part of the U.S. government and is a trustworthy source. (Not every county elections website has a “.gov” URL, but that’s a good sign you can trust that website.)

And if you have any questions about voting, you can always call the nonpartisan Election Protection Hotline.

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