World News – UK – Labeling election lies is winning battles for tech platforms – but not war

While tech platforms have kept their promises to verify false election claims by politicians – up to and including the president – these efforts have not turned the tide in the wider war on disinformation

Between the Lines: Dedicated Disinformation Broadcasters Find Ways to Bend Platform Rules Sometimes the enforcement measures themselves provide new fuel for otherwise baseless conspiracy theories that the media, Big tech and Democrats collude to steal election from President Trump

What’s Going On: Facebook, Twitter and YouTube spent Wednesday tagging content that spreads misinformation, such as bogus claims about the count of fraudulent ballots in crucial transitional states

Premature victories faced a milder fate on Twitter, receiving tags indicating that the tweet in question appeared to be arriving before the results were official

The catch: While platforms usually report problematic content on a fairly short notice, there is still time for many claims to gain attention before they get flagged. Many quickly became misconceptions in ideological echo chambers online within minutes

Meanwhile: There was also a noticeable flaw in corporate election disinformation policies: they only applied to complaints made directly on platforms Users could share false information without any verification if they quoted or presented an excerpt from comments made outside the platform

Be smart: Platforms content metrics often set up a feedback loop in which many of those spreading disinformation have said that the platform’s actions are themselves proof of. a plot – that Silicon Valley muzzled dissent to cover up a plot to steal the election

A positive point: Foreign actors like the Russian Internet Research Agency have failed to disseminate much disinformation, making sporadic efforts but falling flat, said Camille François, chief information officer by Graphika, during a call with journalists organized by Election Integrity Project Wednesday

And next: Slow ballot counting in battlefield states gives disinformation and conspiracy theories a chance to gain popularity, experts say

Joe Biden is approaching the 270 electoral votes he needs to defeat President Trump, Associated Press projections show, with critical states of Michigan and Wisconsin now calling for Biden

The last: With those states and Arizona in Biden’s column, another – like Nevada or Pennsylvania – would be enough to put him on top even as the Trump campaign fights him with lawsuits and narratives

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The Republicans’ likely grip on the Senate is forcing Joe Biden’s transition team to consider limiting their potential Cabinet candidates to those Mitch McConnell can live with, people familiar with the matter say

Why it matters: The Senate’s new political calculations could essentially dash the ambitions of some Democrats, including those who clashed with Republicans

After months of a grueling campaign season, some swing voters in Port St Lucie, Florida are desperate to end this cycle – even if that means accepting a victory for President Biden after voting for President Trump

Why it matters: Fatigue over the level of political awareness and content they’ve been inundated with during this race – along with fear that there will be extreme civil unrest no matter who wins – drives these voters to accept a president they don’t even want to if it means chaos is going to end

Donald Trump, Joe Biden, US Presidential Election, 2020, Stock Exchange