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Atlantic reporter shares ways for voters to suss out disinformation ahead of visit to MSU

Atlantic journalists Elaina Plott Calabro, Adam Harris, and Ron Brownstein and contributor Evan Smith speaking  from couches on stage at an event at the University of Nevada Reno
Courtesy
/
The Atlantic
The Atlantic launched its Democracy at a Crossroads event series in May at the University of Nevada Reno.

Media outlet, The Atlantic has been touring college campuses around the country to break down the issues shaping the November election.

The Democracy at a Crossroads series made stops at the University of Nevada Reno and Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia earlier this year and is now ending with a panel discussion at Michigan State University on Wednesday.

WKAR's Sophia Saliby spoke with Elaine Godfrey, a national politics reporter for The Atlantic who will be a panelist at the on-campus event.

Interview Highlights

On how voters might deal with attempts at disinformation

I think the first answer is, if what you're reading, what you're hearing about a serious situation, makes you feel really emotional in some way, like plays on your emotions, I think experts say that's a good time to step back and do your own research about that and say, okay, is this a trusted source? Are multiple sources saying this? What are the best arguments for and against this being the truth? Because so much of this is intended to make people angry or scared. So when you're feeling that way, check that feeling and check that information.

On the reason The Atlantic is visiting college campuses ahead of the election

I think also, one of the reasons we're going to campuses is to address this sort of youth apathy and this phenomenon of people feeling unheard and people feeling like the two parties don't care about them, aren't listening to them. I see this as a chance to hear from young people, hear about their concerns, teach them a little bit about what my job is like, what being a journalist is. We can always use more journalists and more passionate young people in politics, whatever realm I guess they they want to be in.

On what might bring people together after the election

One thing I'll say that makes me optimistic is as a reporter who covers a lot of Trump rallies, covers a lot of Harris rallies, goes to everything in between, people at these events are pretty nice to me and pretty kind people, right? I don't talk to many people in either camp who seem like bad people, right? Like, everyone seems pretty normal that I talk to. Some people engage in conspiracy theories more than others, but there is this element of humanity that is shared and kindness.

Interview Transcript

Sophia Saliby: Media outlet The Atlantic has been touring college campuses around the country to break down the issues shaping the November election.

The Democracy at a Crossroads series made stops at the University of Nevada Reno and Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia earlier this year and is now ending with a panel discussion at Michigan State University Wednesday afternoon.

Elaine Godfrey is a national politics reporter for The Atlantic who will be a panelist at the on-campus event. She joins me now. Thank you for being here.

Elaine Godfrey: Thanks for having me. Sophia.

Saliby: The title of this event series is "Democracy at a Crossroads." So, what does that mean to you as a reporter covering the election?

There really are some important concerns about democracy here, and which candidate is going to support the winner, support the certification of the election, not question the integrity of our election systems and not spread mis- and disinformation during and after the election.

Godfrey: This is a really important moment. I mean, we always say that elections are important, but there really are some important concerns about democracy here, and which candidate is going to support the winner, support the certification of the election, not question the integrity of our election systems and not spread mis- and disinformation during and after the election.

Saliby: You had a story recently about how conspiracy theories around Hurricanes Helene and Milton are just kind of the start of disinformation campaigns around politics and the election.

What should voters expect in the coming weeks as we head right into November 5, and is there a way to combat this?

Godfrey: I'll explain that story a little bit. I mean, I was watching former President Trump spreading disinformation at his rallies about Hurricane Helene and going into Hurricane Milton saying things like, "Survivors are only eligible for $750 from the government. That's all they can get." And that is just patently not true. They can apply for thousands and thousands of dollars from the government and all kinds of things. I mean, you have Marjorie Taylor Greene implying that Democrats can control the weather, and they sent the hurricane to Trump country. I mean, some of this stuff is laughable, sort of, in its absurdity, but these people have enormous platforms to spread this information, and FEMA officials have said it's really discouraging people from seeking help.

It's making people distrust institutions that are supposed to help them, and that is really bad. I mean, that is a tangible outcome of these kinds of lies. We're going to be seeing this even worse. We're going to be seeing more and more of this around the election, and especially if it's very close.

What can we do? I mean, the first thing is to know that, unfortunately, you cannot always trust elected officials to tell you the truth. I think that used to be maybe a more controversial thing to say, but now, looking at sitting members of Congress and Trump, the leader of the Republican Party, they are spreading lies, and they are knowingly doing that. So, I think first of all being aware that's occurring, and that will be occurring in November and December of the coming year, almost certainly.

If what you're reading, what you're hearing about a serious situation, makes you feel really emotional in some way, like plays on your emotions, I think experts say that's a good time to step back and do your own research.

And I've talked to disinformation experts about this. I mean, how do you know if you're being lied to? How do you know if some of this stuff is real, what reality is? And I think the first answer is, if what you're reading, what you're hearing about a serious situation, makes you feel really emotional in some way, like plays on your emotions, I think experts say that's a good time to step back and do your own research about that and say, okay, is this a trusted source? Are multiple sources saying this? What are the best arguments for and against this being the truth? Because so much of this is intended to make people angry or scared. So when you're feeling that way, check that feeling and check that information.

Saliby: This whole event series has been on college campuses, so can you talk about the role young voters are expected to play in choosing the country's next president?

Godfrey: Young voters are always a group that candidates are fighting for, fighting to turn out because young people tend to have lower turnout numbers in elections like this, and they'll play a huge role. I mean, depending on those turnout rates, they could totally flip the election for one candidate or the other.

I think also, one of the reasons we're going to campuses is to address this sort of youth apathy and this phenomenon of people feeling unheard and people feeling like the two parties don't care about them, aren't listening to them.

One of the reasons we're going to campuses is to address this sort of youth apathy and this phenomenon of people feeling unheard and people feeling like the two parties don't care about them, aren't listening to them.

I see this as a chance to hear from young people, hear about their concerns, teach them a little bit about what my job is like, what being a journalist is. We can always use more journalists and more passionate young people in politics, whatever realm I guess they they want to be in.

Saliby: On the topic of voter apathy, I think we saw this a little bit more before President Biden dropped out, but there were a lot of young liberal, progressive people who didn't feel like Biden represented them, didn't feel like the Democratic Party represented them, and maybe still feel like that when it comes to Vice President Harris.

So, what can be done there on the Democratic side to kind of bridge those gaps while also meeting America's moderates and conservatives?

Godfrey: Yeah. I mean, Harris has a lot of work to do still among young people. She's got to go to them and say, "I'm listening to you. I take your concerns into consideration." I think we've seen through polling, young people care about abortion. She's talked a lot about that. But young people also care about wars. They care about the environment. They care about the Israel-Gaza conflict. And I think, and maybe that's especially interesting in Michigan, this sort of dynamic of having to speak to a lot of different groups at once on a really complicated issue and show that they're being heard.

There is a really strong, you know, young conservatives, young supporters for Trump movement, I'm not sure the same thing exists on the left, at least right now. And I think that is definitely some territory they could be making up between now and the election.

Saliby: Regardless of who wins the election, I think there is a fear the country might not be able to come back together with the kind of divisiveness that has kind of plagued politics over the last 10 years. This is a big question, but have you found maybe something or perspective through your reporting that maybe will be able to unite people once November 5 ends, all the votes are counted. Is there something that could bring people together?

Godfrey: I spend a lot of time thinking about this question. To be totally frank, it's going to be hard. The level of distrust among voters on both sides of the aisle for each other is so high. I do still think that in this country, it's a cliché, but there is more that unites us than divides us, for sure.

If other people in America could see what I see, which is that people are kind, they want the same things, generally, I think that would go a long way.

And one thing I'll say that makes me optimistic is as a reporter who covers a lot of Trump rallies, covers a lot of Harris rallies, goes to everything in between, people at these events are pretty nice to me and pretty kind people, right? I don't talk to many people in either camp who seem like bad people, right? Like, everyone seems pretty normal that I talk to. Some people engage in conspiracy theories more than others, but there is this element of humanity that is shared, and kindness.

And I always tell people, go to the rallies of the person you're not supporting, right? Like, Democrats should go to Trump rallies and vice versa, understand each other, understand sort of the most fervent supporters of one another's candidates. Like, I just think that's really important. Have conversations. If other people in America could see what I see, which is that people are kind, they want the same things, generally, I think that would go a long way. But, you know, that is a big ask.

Saliby: Elaine Godfrey is a reporter for The Atlantic. She'll be on Michigan State University's campus at the Wharton Center Wednesday afternoon for an event being put on by the publication called Democracy at a Crossroads. Thank you for joining us.

Godfrey: Thanks for having me.

This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

Sophia Saliby is the local producer and host of All Things Considered, airing 4pm-7pm weekdays on 90.5 FM WKAR.
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