US election disinformation: How myths like non-citizen voting erode public trust

On GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, US cybersecurity chief Jen Easterly discusses disinformation and its impact on the country. She debunks the myth of non-citizen voting and warns that spreading such conspiracy theories is “corrosive to democracy.

Disinformation is spreading like wildfire ahead of Election Day. The DOJ has spoken about Russia’s efforts to pump lies into the US via fake news. Republicans, Trump, and his allies have repeated some of those narratives to their supporters and party base. In the past few weeks, they have elevated the baseless claim that non-citizens are voting en masse at the polls. These false narratives have sowed doubt about the election and are designed to “pit Americans against one another,” says Jen Easterly. She is the director of Homeland Security's Center for Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

Easterly adds that it has led to real-life threats against election officials and essentially “does the work of our foreign adversaries for them.” The real challenge now is rebuilding people’s confidence and trust in the voting process. She assures of the multiple safeguards put in place at the state and local levels. Election security is more about the public’s perception of integrity and fairness than anything else.

Watch full episode: Top threats to US election security

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