The Big Lie’s Long Tail: Election Denialism in the Midterms and Beyond

The Big Lie’s Long Tail: Election Denialism in the Midterms and Beyond

Date: September 28, 2022
Time: 3-4 pm ET

The “Big Lie,” the denial that the 2020 election outcome was legitimate, continues to have ongoing, harmful effects on American democracy. Election-related misinformation has spread like wildfire online, helping to fuel the passage of new state laws that restrict voting rights. Election equipment has been handed over to unqualified outsiders for the chief purpose of uncovering evidence of imagined election fraud. And, this fall, hundreds of candidates for office have fully embraced election denialism, sometimes even making it a centerpiece of their campaign. Some of these candidates are running to be the chief elections official in their state.

What should online platforms be doing about election misinformation in the run-up to the midterms and beyond? How can we limit the risk of bad-faith actors accessing voter equipment? And how can elections be protected from the prospect of hyperpartisan, biased election officials?

The Center for Democracy & Technology will host a panel of nonpartisan election experts to discuss their concerns about the Big Lie’s long tail — the 2020 election’s downstream effects on election administration and security.

Speakers:

• Will Adler; Senior Technologist, Elections & Democracy; CDT
• Emma Steiner; Disinformation Analyst; Common Cause
• Kevin Johnson; Executive Director; Election Reformers Network

Watch the livestream / recording of this event on CDT’s YouTube page: https://youtu.be/RwuJIodhoTE