American elections are consistently ranked by external watchdogs as well as internal auditors, such as the Department of Homeland Security, as among the fairest and most secure in the world.  Despite the conspiracy theories you might read on the internet, voting corruption simply doesn’t exist. According to David Becker from The Center for Election Innovation and Research, the 2020 election was the most secure in U.S. history, and 2024 will be even more secure. Learn why here.

Despite this, various forces both inside and outside the U.S. have an interest in destabilizing our political system by causing folks to distrust our voting system.  Media, honest politicians, government officials, and watchdog groups are now gearing up to fight the onslaught of misinformation about 2024 being a “rigged” election. It may be uncomfortable to talk with friends and family about conspiracy theories, but you have an important role to play in fighting misinformation and protecting democracy.

When talking to neighbors, friends, and family about the 2024 election—from national to state to local—you need to engage in prebunking bad information. How do you prebunk? That is, how do you inoculate yourself and loved ones against the misinformation virus? In short, you need to give your most vulnerable friends and family a few examples of the lies they will likely receive, mark and evaluate these forthcoming lies with your loved ones, then follow these lies with more trustworthy information.

Research shows that you can protect your friend or loved one by sharing just a bit of the likely misinformation. Ironically, we need to be inoculated against harmful, deceitful information with small doses of the misinformation. For example, you could say that some far-right media and politicians will claim liberals are dumping extra ballets. Why would a group say this? Because doing so casts doubt on unfavorable election results or discourages voters from voting. Or you might explain that far-right groups, or even foreign governments, post made-up social media messages or photos claiming people are voting twice or that illegal aliens are voting—but they do so to confuse voters, anger voters, or turn voters against each other, as well as forcing the U.S. government to use valuable time and resources to battle conspiracy theories.

Research shows this “prebunking” of election lies, or any misinformation, best protects us against lies. If you work through lies and conspiracies with those who are susceptible, always labeling them as likely lies, then “debunk” these claims—explaining why they aren’t true—you are replacing misinformation with logic and good information.  

Prebunking is a non-partisan activity that strengthens elections and democracy by protecting Americans from the onslaught of social media and political misinformation. Want to defend democracy and your family against misinformation? Play this quick game, developed by the University of Cambridge, to help people understand how bad actors craft misinformation to take advantage of us all: https://www.getbadnews.com/books/english/intro