The Age of Fake News: How fake news marred the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election
December 9, 2021 5:44 pm ||
The 2020 U.S. presidential election was touted as one of the most consequential U.S. elections in recent history due to the high stakes on winning from both sides. The nation has never been divided more than ever, with Republican incumbent President Donald Trump aiming to secure four more years in the White House and Democrat candidate Joe Biden trying to restore America’s standing in the world after four years of Trump’s controversial policies, vying for the win. Due to the importance of this election, the media has become an irreplaceable tool for both parties to promote and spread information about their candidate. Conversely, it is used to spread fake news and conspiracy theories to undermine the other candidate. In the aftermath of Joe Biden’s win, the media, especially social media and led by Trump himself, is also used to delegitimize election results and create instability in the transition process. Fake news played an important role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and has been discussed by many in its effects and the actors that played a part in it. However, this article would attempt to explore more about fake news that was spread and its effects in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Fake News in the 2020 U.S. presidential election
The creation and spread of fake news has been rapidly increasing in recent years. UNESCO classified the types of fake news into three categories: disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation. This article would like to highlight more on the usage of disinformation and misinformation in the 2020 U.S. presidential election due to its relevance to the case. Disinformation is defined as false information that is created to harm a person, social group, organization or country in a deliberate manner. Whilst misinformation is defined as false information that is not created with the intent to cause harm.[1] Most of the fake news that was circulated during the election came from Republicans and President Donald Trump, who is known to share fake news in his personal social media account. Claims that Joe Biden was ‘stealing’ the election were shared by Republicans and Trump before and after the election, with no substantial evidence on the claims.
Before the election, Trump repeatedly criticized the election’s mail-in voting, which reached record highs due to Coronavirus. He claimed that mail-in ballots were “out of control” and “a whole big scam”.[2] Despite the high amount of mail-in voting due to voters choosing to vote remotely from their homes, Trump claimed that this was a plan by the Democrats to win the election.[3] His repeated critics on mail-in voting was debunked as it was based on groundless rumors that were started to undermine the democratic process.
During the vote count for the election, Trump targeted more baseless rumors towards Biden to discredit the vote counting, especially in swing states that could determine the outcome of the election. In Pennsylvania, some residents have received text messages that “radical liberals and Democrats” are planning to conduct voter fraud and steal the election.[4] These messages urged people to rally on the streets on the basis of the misinformation of voter fraud, which there was no substantial evidence that proves it. In Arizona and Michigan, there was #SharpieGate, whereby social media users claimed that ballots voted with Sharpie pens would not be counted. The rumor was clarified by election officials, which stated that votes with Sharpie pens would still be counted.[5] Nonetheless, the social media posts fuelling #SharpieGate has more far-reaching consequences, one of which is the harassment of polling station workers based on the hoax.[6]
Impacts of fake news on the 2020 U.S. presidential election
The impact of fake news on the 2020 U.S. presidential election was very apparent due to the promotion of fake news by Trump himself. It is widely known that Trump often used his personal Twitter to rant, and this election was not immune from his attacks either. He repeatedly tweeted many disinformation and misinformation in his personal Twitter account that were used to rally his followers to protest on Biden’s win in the election. The infamous Trump tweet “STOP THE COUNT” was also used as a basis for his supporters to disseminate online misinformations on Democrats trying to “steal” the election.[7] With the high-stakes nature of the election and Trump’s involvement in circulating fake news, social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter took extra steps to limit the amount of fake news being spread by adding fact-checking features to the tweets and labels on deceptive posts.[8]
Due to the fake news that was being spreaded, this posed a threat to American democracy as Trump refused to accept the election results. This was also a threat to the peaceful government transition of incumbent president to the next. Trump was being pushed by his loyal followers, especially on social media, to cling onto power despite his certified election loss. This resulted in an unstable period for American democracy. One of the most severe implications of this period is the Capitol riots, which was incited by Trump in his personal Twitter account.[9] Afterwards, Twitter also permanently suspended Trump’s personal Twitter account.[10]
Social media was a linchpin in Trump’s strategy to gain voters. This strategy led to his win in 2016 and consolidated his support throughout his term. His constant contentious remarks have been a trademark of his personality, whilst boosting his followers who believed those fake news. Despite the benefits that we enjoy from social media and how it has become a platform to freely express our opinions, it has also been used to spread fake news that can be harmful. The case of the 2020 U.S. presidential election highlighted this harmful side of social media platforms and showcased that even the most democratic countries like the U.S. are susceptible to the danger of fake news in social media. With the increasing usage of social media in democratic elections, other countries can potentially experience this effect of fake news in their countries too. Thus, this showed that social media should still be carefully used in order to create a useful platform for democracies, not a disruptive one.
Author: Jasmine Noor Andretha Putri
Editor: Amelinda Pandu Kusumaningtyas
Bibliography
BBC News. 2021. Capitol riots timeline: The evidence presented against Trump. [online] Available at: <https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56004916> [Accessed 28 March 2021].
Blog.twitter.com. 2021. Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump. [online] Available at: <https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2020/suspension.html> [Accessed 28 March 2021].
Euronews. 2020. How US election misinformation has led to real-world tensions. [online] Available at: <https://www.euronews.com/2020/11/06/how-us-election-misinformation-has-led-to-real-world-tensions-thecube> [Accessed 28 March 2021].
Kiely, E. and Rieder, R., 2020. Trump’s Repeated False Attacks on Mail-In Ballots – FactCheck.org. [online] FactCheck.org. Available at: <https://www.factcheck.org/2020/09/trumps-repeated-false-attacks-on-mail-in-ballots/> [Accessed 27 March 2021].
Nguyen, T. and Scott, M., 2020. How ‘SharpieGate’ went from online chatter to Trumpworld strategy in Arizona. [online] POLITICO. Available at: <https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/05/sharpie-ballots-trump-strategy-arizona-434372> [Accessed 27 March 2021].
Rupar, A., 2020. Trump’s desperate “STOP THE COUNT!” tweet, briefly explained. [online] Vox. Available at: <https://www.vox.com/2020/11/5/21550880/trump-tweet-stop-the-count-votes-presidential-election> [Accessed 27 March 2021].
Sanz, C. and Thorbecke, C., 2020. What social media giants are doing to counter misinformation this election. [online] ABC News. Available at: <https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/social-media-giants-counter-misinformation-election/story?id=73563997> [Accessed 28 March 2021].
UNESCO. n.d. Journalism, ‘Fake News’ and Disinformation: A Handbook for Journalism Education and Training. [online] Available at: <https://en.unesco.org/fightfakenews> [Accessed 28 March 2021].
[1] UNESCO. n.d. Journalism, ‘Fake News’ and Disinformation: A Handbook for Journalism Education and Training. [online] Available at: <https://en.unesco.org/fightfakenews> [Accessed 28 March 2021].
[2] Kiely, E. and Rieder, R., 2020. Trump’s Repeated False Attacks on Mail-In Ballots – FactCheck.org. [online] FactCheck.org. Available at: <https://www.factcheck.org/2020/09/trumps-repeated-false-attacks-on-mail-in-ballots/> [Accessed 27 March 2021].
[3] Ibid.
[4] Euronews. 2020. How US election misinformation has led to real-world tensions. [online] Available at: <https://www.euronews.com/2020/11/06/how-us-election-misinformation-has-led-to-real-world-tensions-thecube> [Accessed 28 March 2021].
[5] Nguyen, T. and Scott, M., 2020. How ‘SharpieGate’ went from online chatter to Trumpworld strategy in Arizona. [online] POLITICO. Available at: <https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/05/sharpie-ballots-trump-strategy-arizona-434372> [Accessed 27 March 2021].
[6] Euronews. 2020.
[7] Rupar, A., 2020. Trump’s desperate “STOP THE COUNT!” tweet, briefly explained. [online] Vox. Available at: <https://www.vox.com/2020/11/5/21550880/trump-tweet-stop-the-count-votes-presidential-election> [Accessed 27 March 2021].
[8] Sanz, C. and Thorbecke, C., 2020. What social media giants are doing to counter misinformation this election. [online] ABC News. Available at: <https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/social-media-giants-counter-misinformation-election/story?id=73563997> [Accessed 28 March 2021].
[9] BBC News. 2021. Capitol riots timeline: The evidence presented against Trump. [online] Available at: <https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56004916> [Accessed 28 March 2021].
[10] Blog.twitter.com. 2021. Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump. [online] Available at: <https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2020/suspension.html> [Accessed 28 March 2021].