The League of Women Voters of Evanston hosted a box luncheon and discussion on October 16 at the Evanston Public Library on mis- and disinformation, which prevent citizens from being accurately informed as they make decisions on candidates and issues. Misinformation is defined as false information disseminated by individuals who believe it to be true. Disinformation is false information knowingly disseminated with the intent to mislead others.
The growing reliance on digital communications, many of which are not news organizations committed to vetting their information according to professional journalistic standards, and our own psychological receptivity make us susceptible to mis/disinformation which appears in many forms: parody; imposter content (falsely appears to be from a legitimate source); manipulated, misleading, or fabricated content; and AI and deep fakes.
On the federal level, Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Chris Coons (D-CT), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) have introduced the No Fakes Act to prevent the use of AI-generated likenesses of individuals. They have bi-partisan support in the U.S. House as well. In Illinois, several such laws have already been passed, including ILHB4762 which prohibits the use of a voice or face to depict false information.
While there’s not much the League of Women Voters itself can do legally to protect citizens, it can advocate for laws that prohibit mis/disinformation without impeding free speech, support the media literacy efforts now required in Illinois high schools, check with a healthy skepticism the sources of news we consume and only share information we’ve vetted to be true.
For more information, go to
www.lwvil.org and especially the special section of their website on
mis/disinformation.