Misinformation threats will impact this election season, and the journalists and newsrooms that cover the narratives as they unfold. We’ve put all our resources — briefings, communities, reporting, courses — in one place to help you meet this challenge. Find what you need and if you want to talk to us directly, you can reach us at [email protected].
See and bookmark our US 2020 Dashboard: Live insights on disinformation
Quick links
- Check out and bookmark US 2020 Dashboard: Live insights on disinformation
- Subscribe to our newsletter to learn how to spot online rumors and what to do when you see them
- Watch the talks from Infotheque 2020
- Share our free two week SMS course on misinformation
- Request training for your newsroom
- Get local insights on Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin
Sign up to our weekly reporter briefings
Stay informed about the most urgent and emerging misinformation trends by subscribing to our weekly US 2020 email briefings. We also share quick tutorials on verification and monitoring, and the topics for our weekly “Webi-bars.” The Webi-bars are an hour-long weekly event series where members of the CrossCheck community and subscribers to the US 2020 newsletter can informally discuss that week’s misinformation trends and reporting concerns with First Draft researchers.
Prepare to report on election disinformation
Read the takeaways and watch the replays from Infotheque 2020, our three-day event on reporting on election misinformation. Find videos about mobile verification, local and “elite” misinformation, Facebook political advertising, misinformation that targets Black and Latinx communities and more. You can also hear important election reporting tips from our keynote speaker, civil rights attorney Vanita Gupta, and discover what newsrooms should be doing ahead of the election with The Texas Tribune’s editorial director, Stacy-Marie Ishmael.
Watch the talks
- Claire Wardle in conversation with Vanita Gupta | Dr. Claire Wardle (First Draft) and Vanita Gupta (civilrights.org)
- How local newsrooms confront misinformation | Dr. Claire Wardle (First Draft), Christine Stapelton (Palm Beach Post), Dee Hall (Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism), Katlyn Alo Alapati (Outlier Media), Nicole Vap (KUSA-TV/TEGNA), Shana Black (First Draft Fellow), Nancy Watzman (Local News Fellowship)
- Election Reporting in Unprecedented Times in partnership with Electionland | Dr. Claire Wardle (First Draft), Jessica Huseman (ProPublica) Tammy Patrick (Democracy Fund)
- Misinformation in Black and Latinx communities | Aaron Foley (Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY), Joan Donovan (Shorenstein Center), Jacobo Licona (Equis Labs), Jacquelyn Mason (First Draft)
- Upending reliable sources: discerning who to quote and how | Dr. Claire Wardle (First Draft), Geraldine Cols Azócar (Univision NY), Ivan Oransky (Retraction Watch), Jason Puckett (TEGNA), Kelly McBride (Poynter), Max Siegelbaum (Documented)
- Finding your next story in social media political ads | (Anna Massoglia (Responsive Politics), Jeremy B. Merrill, Laura Edelson (NYU Tandon School of Engineering)
- Verification in your pocket: investigative tips for on-the-go reporting | Laura Garcia (First Draft), Shaydanay Urbani (First Draft), Maddy Webb (First Draft)
Get insights from five battleground states
Share a text message course on disinformation
Our free two-week SMS course will help you to prepare for US election misinformation. “Protection from deception” delivers daily nuggets of training via text. We explain why people create and share false and misleading content, the common tactics people use to spread it, what you can do to outsmart it, and how to talk to family and friends about it. Please share it with your community.
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Access daily disinformation insights
First Draft is coordinating a pool of reporters to support credible coverage of the election and surrounding misinformation. Our investigative research team distributes daily insights about disinformation themes and trends to local and national reporters to help in their reporting.
Interested? Apply to join the pool.
US 2020 Briefings
View all of First Draft’s past weekly briefings from the US 2020 election here.
Join our Student Network
We are building an all-volunteer collaborative project that builds skills in monitoring, verifying and responsibly reporting on misinformation online around the pandemic and the US election.
If you’re a journalism student and want to get involved, apply to join our network.
Request training for your newsroom
First Draft provides a range of training styles, including live crisis simulations to surface disinformation vulnerabilities in newsrooms. If you manage reporters or a newsroom reporting on the US election, you can request bespoke training by getting in touch with us at [email protected]
