ÌìÃÀÊÓƵ

Bill Gates, a Republican member of Arizona’s Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, knows the real-life consequences of online mis/disinformation well.

After upholding the results of the 2020 presidential election, he faced violent threats and harassment fueled by the election denialism spreading online throughout his community. Increasingly angry and detached, that he turned to a therapist who explained he was experiencing signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Gates is among the  facing threats since 2020. Mis/disinformation is a major cause of this trend, a clear connection between bullying and sharing false information.

In my previous column, I wrote about the personal and community consequences of bullying public officials, referencing Chief Housing Officer Nani Medeiros’ recent resignation.

Like Gates, the harassment Medeiros received appeared driven, in part, by disinformation about the Lahaina fire that  government officials set the fire on purpose. These comments, which targeted state officials, are eerily similar to a well-documented disinformation campaign led by pro-China social media users falsely blaming the U.S. military for the fire. 

Educators and school board members face increased threats and harassment nationally and at home. According to the , “Small groups of radicalized adults, egged on by these bad actors, have been whipped into a furor over COVID safety protocols and the false notion that children are being taught ‘critical race theory.'” The NEA said these conspiracies have led to “a sharp increase in threats aimed at educators and school board officials.” 

Locally, increasing harassment of school officials led legislators to , which looked to increase penalties for threatening school officials. As the bill moved through the 2022 legislative session, it became a microcosm of the ongoing national debate. 

In  supporting the bill, Hawaii DOE Superintendent Keith Hayashi explained that polarization and disrespect for government institutions “fostered by social media have emboldened certain persons to harass and intimidate school officials with demeaning swear words and threats to their personal safety.” He said the continuous harassment is a “growing problem.” 

 raised reasonable concerns that the definition of harassment in the bill was too vague and that the penalties were too steep. Others echoed national conspiracist talking points about schools attempting to criminalize concerned parents or linked to  like Law Enforcement Today. One elected official even made the connection to national Critical Race Theory conspiracies on the House floor.

Rising in “strong opposition” to the bill, , “This bill throws a blanket of cold water on parental involvement. Basically, it’s a Loudoun County bill where all this started, where the parents were objecting to curriculum, i.e. CRT.”

In 2021, Virginia’s Loudoun County was at the center of America’s culture wars as parents and advocates raged in school board meetings against CRT and transgender rights. Parents’ culminated in Ku Klux Klan propaganda spread in the community, death threats against school board members and their children, and an arrest at a school board meeting. 

In further alignment with national trends,  his colleagues that if they passed the bill, they should not be surprised “when mothers storm the Capitol, if they do, or if they come and they say bad things and they shout a little bit.”

Mis/disinformation in Hawaii, like on the mainland, is clearly connected to bullying, violence and harassment and is promoted by individuals with multiple levels of influence.

And it’s not only public officials who are under threat.

´¡Ìý survey found that 41% of Americans have experienced some form of online harassment and 25% experienced severe forms of intimidation, including physical threats, stalking and sexual harassment. Politics was the primary reason people were targeted for abuse.

Mis/disinformation is everyone’s problem. So, what can we do about it? Harvard University’s  offers six strategies for countering misinformation. Let’s focus on three of them.

First, treat social networks like communities, not audiences. Disinformation response “campaigns” can lead to disengagement because you’re just telling people what to do rather than engaging them in the conversation.

Personalizing a reply that links to a reputable source debunking the disinformation is one approach. Establishing ground rules about mis/disinformation and civility in your online communities could be another more proactive approach, particularly in groups with strong social ties like NextDoor neighborhoods, soccer parent group chats and small Facebook communities.

Second, craft your responses using “The Truth Sandwich,” which places the false statement between two factual statements. According to TaSC, disinformation is “sticky,” often delivered as a short, memorable slogan. To ensure the truth sticks instead, you should start and finish your statement by pointing out the political agenda of the group spreading disinformation and referring to information from trusted sources like doctors.

Third, attempt to “prebunk” predictable disinformation. The TaSC describes prebunking as “an offensive strategy that refers to anticipating what disinformation is likely to be repeated by politicians, pundits and provocateurs during key events.” It is “an effort to get ahead of misinformation and establish credibility and trust before the disinformation narrative can take hold.” 

Some of the most effective prebunking efforts recruit trusted community members to warn vulnerable audiences that they may be targets of disinformation and arm them with facts. Tools that teach people how to spot disinformation and identify credible sources also help to build resilience.

Most of us can find opportunities to use these strategies to help limit the spread of mis/disinformation. Taking action will require educating ourselves and improving our media literacy. We also must resist disengaging from political disagreements and work to counter damaging falsehoods without escalating the problem.

It may be easier to look away, but mis/disinformation has real-world consequences that we should all work to prevent.