E-countering e-deception

Initially started as notes for Jon Pincus' presentation at the tutorial on E-Deceptive Campaign Practices: Elections 2.0

Examples of online activities countering potential "e-deceptive" campaign practices in the 2008 US Presidential elections

= "Ron Paul drops out" =

Having seen a Washington Post headline about Ron Paul dropping out, I posted something in the Ron Paul group on Facebook -- and was quickly corrected: Paul in fact was not dropping out, as events since then have shown, but shifting his strategy.

More broadly, Ron Paul supporters reacted quickly to these mischaracterizations. A good example: Ron Paul Moves on From Presidential Campaign on ABC News' Political Radar: "An earlier version of this report indicated that Paul would "drop out" of the race. In the video, Paul did not use the words "drop out," opting instead to say the campaign is "winding down," and he encourages supporters to still cast votes for him." Great quote in the comments from "Down with MSM"


 * What's this? Another media report of Ron Paul dropping out of the race before any official mention from his headquarters. Seems like this has happens a dozen times already. Isn't the MSM supposed to report the news not make it. ABC didn't you say Al Gore was elected president once, or didn't you learn something from that? It's official when it's official.

= "Obama is a Muslim" =

''links, please! also to discussions about the trickiness of countering this disinformation campaign without being anti-Islam''

= NAFTAgate =

links, please!

= Women's Voices Women Vote =

Discussions around the blogosphere of Women's Voices Women Vote (WVWV) mailings and robocalls, which some have described as e-deception.


 * Statement of Maude Hurd, ACORN National President on the WVWV site
 * Pam Spaulding on the NC voting rights case: "Sunlight is the best disinfectant" on Facing South
 * Some context on WVWV by Matt Stoller on OpenLeft
 * Follow the money trail and political connections, on npr.com, credited to Will Evans of the Center for Investigative Reporting

= Operation Chaos =

Note: to edit, please use the Operation Chaos chronology page

= Clinton Attacks Obama wiki =


 * Wiki to track Clinton Attacks on Obama by Baratunde Thurston on GoodCrimeThink, crossposted on Jack and Jill Politics
 * Comedian Starts a Wiki To Track Attacks on Obama by Sarah Lai Stirland on Wired's THREAT LEVEL
 * the Clinton Attacks Obama Wiki

= Responses to requests for examples =

Jon listed a few of of the above examples as well as discussions deconstructing of media framing, the Double Bubble Trouble/Count Every Vote campaign in response to the deceptive ballot design, and social network-based "Know Your Rights" work for the primaries and caucuses, and asked for additional examples. Here were a couple of responses:


 * in the Congressman Ron Paul for President group on Facebook, Dan Goldman described his experiences on highlighting misperceptions of Obama's positions in the Obama group, for example:


 * 3) Obama pretending that he will withdraw troops from Iraq, despite his website statement that leaves him tons of wiggle room to keep them there indefinitely. Me trying to explain this to the people in the Obama group and getting called a troll.


 * in the Politics association on free-association, SonyaLynn's comment included


 * a few of my favorites in this respect are the ever-valuable factcheck.org (run by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at UPenn), the kick-ass progressive media watchdog Media Matters for America, and the viral video projects of Robert Greenwald's Brave New Films (makes of the fine "FOX Attacks!" and "The REAL McCain" series of videos).