We need your help!
An unprecedented amount of misinformation, disinformation and malinformation is spreading on social media and other channels, much of it designed to undermine confidence in our elections and deceive the public about how elections work.
The Arapahoe County Elections Division works hard to counter this false and misleading information, but we need help from engaged voters like you.
Trusted Information Sources
The people who work to provide fair, accessible elections in Arapahoe County are your neighbors.
We see each other on hiking trails, at the park, at the grocery store.
We are members of your community, and we work hard all year long to make sure everyone has a voice and that every vote counts.
Here are some tips to stay educated and help combat election mis-,dis-, and malinformation:
When using social media, reading emails with linked materials or viewing videos on YouTube or other platforms, keep in mind that bad actors are actively spreading disinformation on these channels to divide us and decrease trust in elections.
Verify that election related news stories or social media posts are accurate before sharing or liking. If you aren't sure, verify claims with trusted sources of information. Turn to trustworthy sources for election information such as ArapahoeVotes.gov, the Colorado Secretary of State and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's "Rumor Control" page.
Encourage family and friends to turn to trustworthy sources for election information such as ArapahoeVotes.gov, the Colorado Secretary of State and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's "Rumor Control" page. Remind family and friends that disinformation on the electoral process is out there. Politely point out when they've shared misinformation from their accounts.
Learn how elections work by exploring our election transparency page on this site, and learn more about election security in Colorado by visiting the Secretary of State's election security and integrity page.
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Recognize bad information when you see it: Misinformation: false or misleading information that is shared with (or without) deliberate intent to deceive others. Example: an article or blog quotes someone who identifies themselves as an “MD” who says signals from 5G cell phone towers cause cancer and damage human DNA. Experts can quickly debunk this, but the claims are presented as fact without that important context, so they seem legitimate.
Disinformation: false or misleading claims shared specifically to deceive others, such as unsubstantiated rumors, character attacks and conspiracy theories. Some may seem “too good to be true.” Example: On Nov. 4, 2020, a tweet that quickly went viral falsely stated that Wisconsin counted more ballots than there were registered voters in the state. The tweet compared the number of ballots in 2020 to the number of registered voters from 2018, creating a false, deliberately misleading comparison.
Malinformation: a false narrative built around something with a grain of truth. Example: a tweet states that ballots can be run through Dominion Voting machines twice, implying that vote counts could be altered. The statement ignores the context that any voting system may require the operator to scan a batch of ballots more than once (if a ballot jams a machine) and that safeguards prevent ballots from being counted more than once. |