There's a lot of talk today about “threats to our democracy.” But did you know that foreign powers like China, Russia, and Iran are feeding misinformation and disinformation to American voters in order to influence political outcomes in our country? When the Soviets did this (without social media as a tool), it was called “sabotage,” or, in Soviet parlance, “active measures.”
Add to this that one study found that mainstream media bias increases the Democratic presidential candidate's vote share by 8-10 points every election, and another found that bias by big tech companies could lead to up to 15 million votes being swung to the favored presidential candidate. All of this raises questions.
Whatever the outcome in November, will it truly represent the “will” of the American people? Or will it be like the patient who longs for better health but is lied to by his doctor? Sure, he “chooses” a particular “treatment,” but does it reflect his desire if it is based on a faulty diagnosis and prescription? After all, he would not knowingly choose the futility of treatment or even the increase of illness.
Purveyors of political poison
Liberty Vittert, a professor of data science at Washington University in St. Louis, knows her position well. And when it comes to foreign interference, she's clear: “They are rigging our elections,” she wrote on Sunday. “And we are allowing them to do it.”
Vittert starts with a simple point: she asks, “Have you met Donald Trump?” Many people (Vittert says “most”) have never even seen the candidate. Rather, the media (not only traditional media, but now social media as well) are the conduit for information. We only know, for example, that the war in Ukraine is escalating because of the media. And the media shapes Americans' (mis)understanding of the war. In the same way, Vittert points out, these “third parties” shape public opinion about the election.
She starts with TikTok, an app used by 170 million Americans and linked to China's fascist regime. It's clear, Wittert writes, that China is using the platform to spread disinformation, including anti-American propaganda. For example, she writes:
Do you think it's a coincidence that Osama bin Laden's “Letter to America” went viral on TikTok shortly after the Hamas massacre of Jews on October 7th and the day after President Biden spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the same issue?
In fact, Vittert argues, TikTok is America's biggest source of misinformation. But don't expect Democrats to rein in the platform controlled by our main geopolitical adversary. And never mind that TikTok spread misinformation to hundreds of thousands of Americans in 2020 (or was it millions?), he says. After all, TikTok is extremely valuable for reaching young voters, and its bias isn't necessarily in favor of Republicans.
Foreigners are not just foreigners
Moreover, American tech giants also encourage foreign interference. As Wittert puts it, in the name of profits, Apple
We have allowed countless apps that are nothing more than tools owned and created by Russia, China, and Iran to infiltrate the American public. For example, FaceApp (a social media app that guesses your age) has been downloaded by Americans more than 80 million times, and its terms of use state that the Russian-owned company with ties to Vladimir Putin's regime can use the uploaded images “forever.” In other words, in the election disinformation cycle, you can expect at least millions of Twitter bots to pounce on you using the faces and names of real Americans.
Gay dating app Grindr was sold to a Chinese tech company in 2018. The US is now forcing the sale on the company, citing national security risks.
But why would Chinese people, whose government banned “effeminate men” from television in 2021, be interested in a gay app?
“Grindr users even enter their location and HIV status,” Wittert said. Now the Chinese government has that information, “making it the perfect medium for blackmailing U.S. civilian and military leaders.”
The professor continues:
The New York Times reported that Facebook had granted access to more than 150 companies, revelations that Zuckerberg had not previously disclosed, including allowing Microsoft's search engine Bing to access data without users' consent, and allowing companies like Spotify and Netflix to read private messages.
Topping the list is Yandex, which is essentially the Russian version of Google's search engine. It's scary that very private information (of millions of Americans) is being sent directly to the Kremlin. But what scares me even more is that Facebook is defending this operation, saying they have “no evidence of misuse by their partners.”
Really?
The big picture
In the U.S., Facebook has more than 200 million users, Instagram has more than 100 million, and X has about 70 million, Vittert said. Of course, there's some overlap. Still, that means roughly 60% of the U.S. population is likely absorbing foreign propaganda.
Alas, “American” Big Tech doesn't condone it either. In fact, it may be happy about it. First, these foreign entities are a way to make money. But the foreign agenda and Big Tech's agenda overlap significantly, meaning many of our geopolitical enemies may be Democrats, and so are Big Tech. For example, Vittert notes Facebook censoring conservatives while pushing left-wing content. (I've experienced this myself and been a victim.)
One more thing: X (Twitter) should not be confused with other tech giants. MDS (i.e. Musk Derangement Syndrome) aside, X is true information democracy in action. X is real social media, a reflection of the public's opinion, and a largely open forum. This is reflected in “community notes,” where users collectively identify falsehoods and attach correction notes to tweets containing misinformation. The system works surprisingly well; in fact, I have yet to see an incorrect community note.
This highlights that the best way to combat false speech is with more speech, not government censorship that spreads disinformation.
