Democracy at Risk: Confronting Disinformation and Voter Suppression
Q&A with Human Rights First’s Associate Directors of Democracy Protection, Hanah Stiverson and Elizabeth Yates.
What does the Democracy Protection (DP) team at Human Rights First do?
The DP program at Human Rights First was established to combat the mainstreaming of dangerous rhetoric, legislation, and policies that continue to be leveraged against communities and democratic institutions.
We do this through a variety of strategies including advocating against harmful policy and legislation at the federal and state levels and by working with a network of partners and coalitions to advocate, educate, and inform.
As experts on the intersections of the antidemocratic movement we speak to congressional audiences, journalists, and others to ensure our democratic processes are being protected.
In what ways do you see democracy being threatened today?
Democracy in the United States is an ongoing project rather than an established state of being. Historically, many in our nation have been left out of this project, but equally, many have fought over the decades to be included and to include others. At the same time there remains a vocal minority of those that seek to exclude, restrict, and harm communities’ rights, disallowing them full representation and freedoms.
The current iteration of the antidemocratic movement has grown in recent years to include an authoritarian and fascist underbelly that is working to damage our democratic processes — such as free and fair elections, harm our communities — including immigrants, refugees, LGBTQ+ students and educators, and roll back our rights — such as reproductive freedom, equitable public education, and more.
How does disinformation impact the health of a democracy? How can we identify and combat it?
Disinformation is the deliberate spread of misleading or biased information (as opposed to misinformation, which is not necessarily deliberate), and poses considerable danger to a democracy that relies on trust in elected officials.
This danger is multifold. Widespread disinformation can decrease citizens’ trust in the electoral process, or other democratic institutions (i.e. public health, public education, etc.). Disinformation can also seed dangerous false beliefs that influence decisions from voting on critical issues, to educational policies or materials, to critical public information like public health data.
Identifying disinformation requires both media literacy and access to trustworthy, unbiased sources of information. This is a complex issue that experts in this field continue to struggle with considering the speed that disinformation is spread in our current online media landscape. It is an uphill battle that requires collaboration between experts, media, and elected officials.
What role does the media play in protecting or undermining democratic systems?
The media, both social, journalism, and more, play vital roles in the health of our democratic systems. Historically, the media has been used to manipulate or control societies under authoritarian and fascist regimes. A free press is a cornerstone of a flourishing democracy, and unfortunately our current media landscape is under threat. To be clear, freedom of speech does not mean freedom to harm, misinform, or disempower, on any privately-owned platform. However, both social media platforms and traditional press are now being attacked or taken over by a growing antidemocratic and authoritarian movement that weaponizes the call for “freedom of speech” to spread conspiracy theories, violent and bigoted rhetoric, and more.
A secondary concern is the impulse to feed into spectacle. Unfortunately, rising authoritarianism provides unending opportunity for that. Professional media must toe a cautious line between reporting on the dangers posed by this movement, and resisting the promotion of dangerous rhetoric and tactics just for the sake of views.
How can we ensure that all communities — including those who have historically been the target of authoritarian and anti-democratic actors — are empowered to access and fully engage in the democratic process?
Marginalized communities are best served by having full representation at all stages of the democratic process. Too often the rights and freedoms of communities are negotiated and restricted by those who feel the least impact of these policies and laws.
What are the risks of voter suppression, and how can they be combatted?
Democracy requires full voter freedom, and the strategies being deployed that restrict access to polls, disseminate voter disinformation, and damage our electoral systems are evolving rapidly. We are in a critical stage in the growth of a fascist, authoritarian movement, and we must combat this with every tool at our disposal. That includes advocating against harmful policies and laws that restrict voters rights and access, rejecting policies that limit choice in our electoral system, and protecting our processes and poll workers from harassment and discrimination.
How do you think technology and social media influence modern-day democracy?
Technology and social media are tools like anything else. In the 1930s and 40s radio and print media were used to spread fascist rhetoric, as well as to combat it. The same is true today, albeit at a much more rapid pace.
However, a vital difference is how global social media platforms are and what content is allowed to thrive on peoples’ feeds. Take global conspiracy theories for instance, which have influenced everything from people’s trust in vaccines, to mass book bannings, to local anti-LGBTQ+ laws. While this isn’t unique to our contemporary era, there are still practical concerns about the speed in which technology can be utilized, and the ways that dangerous content can become viral, having real world impact in a short period.
What are the long-term consequences of weakened democratic institutions for society?
Initially a weakened democracy looks like a rollback of rights, snowballing into long term damage like the ending of Roe v Wade or overtly biased court systems. This also looks like more and more rights restricting laws and policies being passed like laws restricting gender affirming care in states like Texas, book bans in schools, defunding public education, attacks on curriculum teaching the history of race in the United States, and draconian immigration laws.
Eventually, a weakening of democratic institutions means less protections from a rising authoritarian and fascist movement, with attacks on our election system, political figures, and government agencies, and weaponization of the U.S. military against its own people. We’re not there yet, but authoritarian forces are gaining strength, and we need,a concerted effort to turn back the tide of this movement.
What can individual people do to help uphold democracy?
Democracy is not a top-down process. Local and state elections, including positions like school boards are critical to maintaining a thriving democracy. Individuals must become informed, not only on federal politics, but also of those policies and laws impacting them in their own communities.
The good news is our country has a long history of communities coming together and challenging attacks on human and civil rights, and there are so many groups and individuals who are doing this work now. This is a perfect time to get involved.
Get engaged, write letters to your governors pushing back on the issues you care about most. Seek out town halls and school board meetings and start paying attention to who is advocating for harm and who is fighting against it.
What are some of the biggest reasons why people should vote in this election?
Even with the barrage of attacks on our electoral processes and mass disinformation about this election season our individual votes still matter. Civic participation is vital to a democracy, and more than ever before we must collectively use every tool at our disposal to push back against those who wish to see our voices silenced. Take part in democracy and vote.
