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Election Integrity Best Practices Guide Released

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Election Integrity Best Practices Guide Released

Helping online platforms big and small with specific suggestions, examples, and best practices they can implement, regardless of size

Katie Harbath
May 17, 2023
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Election Integrity Best Practices Guide Released

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Picture it - Summer of 2020. I’m home alone during the pandemic and in the middle of trying to figure out what I wanted the next chapter of my career to be. I told Facebook I wanted to keep working on elections - in the United States and globally. I decided I was going to write up a proposal of what I wanted that work to look like and that it would be my focus through 2024 whether or not I stayed at the company. In August 2020, I wrote up my “2024 project” proposal, and in it, I said:

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While many entities have been doing great work for many years to protect democracy, they are either focused on one country or a small subset of countries. None take a truly global lens in their projects to look at how we should solve these problems for established and emerging democracies. The 2024 Project aims to do just that by building a team of people and organizations who understand how to build solutions that will not only pass the United States Congress but apply globally. They will bring their expertise in political ads, building technology, establishing policies, and working at scale to develop a repertoire of thought leadership, resources, coalitions, training, and funding to work with civil society, governments, companies, and the media to tackle these problems. 

Since then, I’ve tried to make this a reality through Anchor Change and work at the Bipartisan Policy Center, Integrity Institute, the International Republican Institute, and many other orgs.

I’m so excited to share today a huge milestone for this elections work - the part one launch of a guide with the Integrity Institute titled: “Elections integrity best practices: Responsibly supporting elections on online platforms,” that I authored along with Integrity Institute member Glenn Ellingson and many other Institute members.

The goal of this new guide is simple:

  1. We want all online platforms, big and small, to understand best why it is important to have an elections integrity program, and 

  2. Regardless of size, give those companies specific suggestions, examples, and best practices they can implement.

Why are we doing this now? Because most folks are not aware (though if you are a regular reader of this newsletter, you know) that next year, for the first time ever, we will have a U.S. presidential election in the same year as elections in India, Indonesia, Ukraine, Taiwan, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the European Parliament. Overall, there will be 65 elections across 54 countries coming in 2024. And here in the US, we have already kicked off the 2024 presidential cycle, with numerous candidates declaring they are running.

As we have seen in recent years, elections truly test a company's integrity tools. Elections also present real risks to online platforms, such as compliance, regulatory, legal liability, and reputational damage. 

We also know elections bring with them bad actors looking to manipulate or interfere and elevated risk of real-world harm that is often fueled online.

Lastly, online platforms truly do have the potential to impact an election outcome through disinformation or voter suppression efforts. 

Some of the Integrity Institute members have been working on these issues since the beginning and have had to build these teams, policies, and procedures. So, we pulled them together with outside groups and collaborators to create this guide to help companies capitalize on the success of that work and avoid some of the mistakes others have made in the past. 

When it comes to online platforms and their role in elections, a key first step is understanding and mapping out how the platform could be used for politics. That includes user-generated content; political ads; direct messaging; fundraising; branded content; and others. 

Another important step is an audit of available resources: what are the technical capabilities, company policies, language support, partnerships with third parties, NGOs, and governments, for example. 

When developing these programs, size does matter. Different-sized companies have different levels of resources they can allocate to election work. And as you’ll see in the guide, we recognize this and don’t suggest every company implement the same measures. 

I want to emphasize a point we make throughout the guide, and that is: companies are not on their own in this effort. We’ve seen great partnerships develop across the industry. And we also point out there is a key role for civil society and outside stakeholders, who can offer a wide array of support and expertise and serve as a force multiplier for this work. 

We also very much had on top of mind the rapid development and deployment of AI tools. Every major online company has been using AI and machine learning for years. Still, we are seeing impressive technology that could be used in nefarious ways when it comes to elections, such as more use of deep fakes and impersonation of a candidate’s voice or likeness. We are certainly thinking about these issues at the institute and hope that we can serve as a resource for companies and media as they wrestle with these challenges. 

I encourage you to check out the full guide. Glenn and I also recorded an episode of the Integrity Institute podcast Trust in Tech on the making of this document.

This is only the beginning of the work we are doing ahead of all the elections next year, and we welcome any and all feedback.

Also, a huge thank you to John Sands at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation for providing the funding to do this!

What I’m Reading

  • Apolitical: Could ChatGPT Help Solve the Burnout Crisis in Government?

  • Global Cyber Strategies: Tackling Tech at the Upcoming G7

  • The New York Times: Ex-ByteDance Executive Accuses Company of ‘Lawlessness’

  • Reuters: Brazil Supreme Court Justice Orders Investigation into Google, Telegram Execs

  • Financial Times: US states’ social media laws to protect kids create challenges for platforms

  • Platform://Democracy: Perspectives on Platform Power, Public Values and the Potential of Social Media Councils

  • Bloomberg: Google Launching Tools to Identify Misleading AI Images

  • BBC News: Cambodia: Opposition Candlelight Party barred from July vote

  • Wired: More Penguins Than Europeans Can Use Google Bard 

  • Lawfare: Addressing Media Capture: A framework for navigating the trade-offs inherent to developing policies on state media

  • Variety: Cord-Cutting Hits All-Time High in Q1, as U.S. Pay-TV Subscriptions Fall to Lowest Levels Since 1992

  • Bipartisan Policy Center: 'Succession' Highlights "Loaded Weapon" in Our Elections

  • UNC Center for Information, Technology and Public Life: Civic Information Handbook

  • Citizen Data: ChatGPT’s Impact on Democracy

  • Twitter: Update on actions in Turkey

Calendar

🚨 NEW 🚨

  • May 28, 2023 - Turkey election runoff

Topics to keep an eye on:

  • Biden Administration POV on Texas and Florida laws

  • Facebook 2020 election research 

  • TV shows about Facebook - Doomsday Machine and second season of Super Pumped

  • May 17, 2023 - House Judiciary Committee Hearing on AI and Intellectual Property

  • May 13 and 27, 2023 – Mauritania election

  • May 21, 2023 – Greece election

  • May 21, 2023 – Timor-Leste election

  • May 23, 2023 - Google Marketing Live (GML) 

  • May 24-26, 2023 - Nobel Prize Summit: Truth, Trust and Hope

  • May 28, 2023 - Turkey election runoff

  • May 30, 2023 - Atlantic Council Report Launch: Telegram, WeChat and WhatsApp useage in the United States

  • May: EU-India Trade and Technology Council meeting in Brussels 

  • June 4, 2023 – Guinea Bissau election

  • June 5-9 - RightsCon

  • June 5 - 9 - WWDC - Apple developer event

  • June 5, 2023 - The European Commission, European parliament and EU member states are due to agree a final definition for political advertising 

  • June 11, 2023 – Montenegro election

  • June 19, 2023 - Meta response due on COVID misinfo 

  • June 24 - June 30 - Aspen Ideas Festival

  • June 24, 2023 – Sierra Leone election

  • June 25, 2023 – Guatemala election

  • TBD June: DFR Lab 360/OS

  • July 11-13, 2023 - TrustCon

  • July 2023 – Sudan election (likely to have further changes due clashes erupted mid-April, despite temporary humanitarian ceasefire,)

  • July 23, 2023 – Cambodia election

  • July or August 2023 – Zimbabwe election

  • August 10 - 13, 2023 - Defcon

  • August-2023 – Eswatini election

  • August 2023 - First GOP Presidential Primary Debate

  • Mid-September: All Tech Is Human - Responsible Tech Summit NYC

  • September 27-29, 2023: Athens Democracy Forum

  • September 28-29, 2023 - Trust & Safety Research Conference 

  • TBD September: Atlantic Festival

  • TBD September: Unfinished Live

  • September 2023 – Bhutan election

  • September 2023 – Tuvalu election

  • September 9, 2023 – Maldives election

  • September 30, 2023 – Slovakia election

  • September 2023 – Rwanda election

  • October 2023 – Oman election

  • October 2023 Poland election

  • October 8, 2023 – Pakistan election

  • October 10, 2023 – Liberia election

  • October 14, 2023 – New Zealand election

  • October 22, 2023 – Switzerland election

  • October 29, 2023 – Argentina election

  • October 2023 – Gabon election

  • October 2023 – Ukraine election

  • November 20, 2023 – Marshall Islands election

  • November 29, 2023 – Argentina election

  • December 20, 2023 – Democratic Republic of the Congo election

  • December 2023 –Togo election

  • 2023 or 2024 – Peru election

  • TBD – Dominica election

  • TBD – Luxembourg election

  • TBD – Myanmar election

  • TBD – Spain election

  • TBD – Gabon election

  • TBD – Madagascar election

  • TBD – Haiti election

  • TBD – Libya election

  • TBD – Singapore election

2024

  • January 2024 – Bangladesh election 

  • January 2024 – Finland election 

  • January 13, 2024 – Taiwan election 

  • February 4, 2024 – El Salvador election 

  • February 4, 2024 – Mali election 

  • February 14, 2024 – Indonesia election 

  • February 25, 2024 – Senegal election 

  • February 25, 2024 – Belarus election 

  • March 17, 2024 – Russia election 

  • March 31, 2024 – Ukraine election 

  • April 10, 2024 – South Korea election 

  • April 2024 – Solomon Islands election 

  • April 2024 – Maldives election 

  • May 5, 2024 – Panama election 

  • May 19, 2024 – Dominican Republic election 

  • June 2024 – Mongolia election 

  • July 7, 2024 – Mexico election 

  • July 15 - 18, 2024 - Republican National Convention

  • August 19 - 22, 2024 - Democratic Convention, Chicago

  • October 27, 2024 – Uruguay election 

  • October 2024 – Mozambique election 

  • October 2024 – Chad election 

  • November 2024 – Guinea Bissau election 

  • November 2024 – Moldova election 

  • November 2024 – Romania election 

  • November 5, 2024 – United States of America election 

  • November 12, 2024 – Palau election 

  • December 2024 – Croatia election 

  • TBD – Algeria election 

  • TBD – Austria election 

  • TBD – Belgium election 

  • TBD – Botswana election 

  • TBD – Burkina Faso election 

  • TBD – Chad election 

  • TBD – Comoros election 

  • TBD – Croatia election 

  • TBD – Dominica election 

  • TBD – Egypt election 

  • TBD – Ethiopia election 

  • TBD – Georgia election 

  • TBD – Ghana election 

  • TBD – Iceland election 

  • TBD – India election 

  • TBD – Iran election 

  • TBD – Jordan election 

  • TBD – Kiribati election 

  • TBD – Kuwait election 

  • TBD – Lithuania election

  • TBD – Madagascar election 

  • TBD – Mauritania election

  • TBD – Mauritius election

  • TBD – Montenegro election 

  • TBD – North Korea election

  • TBD – North Macedonia election

  • TBD – Romania election 

  • TBD – Rwanda election

  • TBD – San Marino election

  • TBD – Slovakia election 

  • TBD – South Africa election

  • TBD – South Sudan election

  • TBD – Syria election 

  • TBD – Tunisia election

  • TBD – United States of America election 

  • TBD – Uzbekistan election

  • TBD – Venezuela election

Anchor Change is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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