The Defining Challenge of the 2024 US Elections: Navigating the Information Space
The information space, where Americans work, learn, engage, and entertain themselves online, is increasingly opaque and fragmented. The major social media platforms have generally moved away from robust trust and safety teams and are giving researchers less access to platform data. The platforms themselves have multiplied—each with its own policies and appeal. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is supercharging the ability for anyone anywhere to create realistic but fake images, audio, and video. Foreign actors such as Russia, China, and Iran are actively running influence operations targeting Americans. Information silos and echo chambers are robust.
It is the defining challenge of this election. This complex information space is testing trust in the election process, leading to disengagement from politics, and distorting our views of each other.
Polarization around this election and anything remotely political seems omnipresent. The problem is made worse by politicians who are willing to spread information they know to be false. But it is also a self-fulfilling prophecy in some ways: we see this distorted information environment online and assume it is representative of our country and our communities.
Americans seem to be at a loss as to how to navigate this challenge. A recent Axios survey found that 54% of respondents agreed with the statement, "I've disengaged from politics because I can't tell what's true." There are two alarming elements of that finding. First, more than half of the respondents cannot distinguish good information from bad. Second, their solution is to disengage from politics at a time when we need the “political middle” engaged more than ever. This is happening not just on the individual level—businesses in swing states have been less willing to host candidates than ever before, due to the potential impact of that polarization on their businesses.
While some disengage, election officials must administer elections in this increasingly tough environment. After a record low following the 2020 election and former President Donald Trump’s continued false claims that it was rigged, trust in US elections has seen a modest bump. However, election administration is still a lightning rod for false information—malicious and accidental—and the election outcome is expected to be highly contested. The community of election officials and volunteers has seen an increase in challenges related to these false claims and heightened scrutiny, including harassment of and threats against election official and workers. Election administration was caught up in the recent deluge of false information and rumors around the impact of and response to Hurricane Helene, but North Carolinians are pushing back with officials from both parties and local media stepping up to debunk false narratives.
In response to this increasingly fraught environment, election officials across the more than 8,000 election jurisdictions throughout the United States are working hard to communicate clearly and transparently. They know that elections are human-run endeavors, meaning a perfect election is a unicorn. The goal is to catch mistakes and correct them quickly and transparently. Each state has a process for accountable elections
A challenge this big and this complex can easily overwhelm the individual. But there are things each of us can do. Evaluate your information diet and limit/add to find the right balance of good information for your lifestyle. Decide on your trusted election sources now—and include your local election officials. If you have an emotional reaction to information you come across, double check your sourcing and reaction—bad actors often use emotional content. Make a plan now about how and when you are going to vote. Volunteer at the polls.
Most importantly, now and particularly post-election, it is important to remember that building trust in communities is not impossible. In fact, polling from More in Common found that 72% of Americans think that what we have in common is greater than what divides us. It will, however, be on all of us to share responsibility to engage and build communities, offline and on, that serve and reflect shared goals.