Podcast | What makes this year’s election lies different
UW researcher Jevin West tells us how the attempts to delegitimize the presidential election could be warping the electorate.
Sponsors help make Crosscut’s independent nonprofit journalism possible. However, sponsors have no influence over editorial content. To view Crosscut’s editorial independence policy, visit our advertising definitions page .
In the lead-up to and aftermath of the 2020 election, tech companies have been on the front lines of fighting misinformation. Twitter placed disclaimers on several tweets from President Trump in the days after the election. (Photo illustration by Crosscut)
Misinformation has been a part of American politics since George Washington didn't have wooden teeth. But in the past decade lies and distortions have become central to the conversation about how our country is run and who runs it.
Social media platforms have taken some measures to help stop the spread of many of these lies in the run-up to the 2020 election, and it appears they had some success. But the job isn't done, as misinformation concerning the result of the election and the validity of the vote continues to spread.
For this week's episode of the Crosscut Talks podcast we speak with University of Washington researcher Jevin West about the election and its aftermath. The co-author of Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World tells us what he saw on Election Day, why the lies surrounding this election are different from those we've seen before and how to combat them. He also discusses what four years of almost nonstop nonsense has done to our country and our brains, and what it means for our future.
