US poll disinformation veiled

MIMICKING JOURNOS: ONLINE ‘CHARLATANS’ PUMP OUT SPECULATION, FABRICATIONS

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“Breaking” news, screamed an online post by a conservative American influencer as he pushed disinformation about Kamala Harris, illustrating how journalism lingo has been co-opted as a tool to amplify election falsehoods.

The misuse of the term, typically deployed by media outlets to relay major news developments, is part of an assault on reality across tech platforms that researchers said have relaxed their guardrails against false information in a crucial election year.

It is yet another disinformation trend undermining trust in traditional media – already at historic lows, surveys show – alongside the proliferation of fake “news” sites and the growing tactic of attributing false information to legitimate media outlets.

Disinformation peddlers “use terms like ‘breaking’ in an apparent attempt to convey legitimacy,” Sam Howard, politics editor at the watchdog, NewsGuard, said.

“This tactic has had a conspicuous role in false US political narratives that have spread in 2024.”

In a recent viral post to his 2.8 million followers on X, the former Twitter, right-wing influencer Benny Johnson wrote: “Breaking: Univision accidentally broadcast proof that Kamala used a teleprompter at her town hall.”