Fighting disinformation

by Anita Saville and Jennifer Hurley-Wales

The daily false and misleading stories about everything from vaccine mandates to election outcomes deepen the fault lines between Red and Blue America and threaten to destroy what was once the greatest democracy in the world.

While disinformation seeps from many sources, Fox News is the leading disseminator of lies and deceit that make the rounds of broadcast, print, and social media today. Those who wish to fight back now have an ally in the newly formed Defenders of Democracy Against Disinformation (DDAD). 

Following the pick-up in Stop the Steal rhetoric this past January, a lawyer, a teacher, a doctor, an engineer, and a management consultant came together to found DDAD to “publicly call out” members of the media, public officials and others who “participate in disseminating lies and disinformation to the detriment of our national well-being.”

Please join Concord Indivisible for a huddle with Julie Greenberg of Defenders of Democracy Against Disinformation (DDAD).
Sunday, November 21 4–5pm
REGISTER NOW

We’ll discuss how to counter the forces of disinformation that are threatening our democracy and distorting reality — Fox News in particular.

“The January 6 attempted coup and continued weaponization of the Covid pandemic made the threat of disinformation crystal clear to us,” says Julie Greenberg, a DDAD founder. “We knew we had to fight back with the same commitment we give to electoral candidates. And we didn’t think existing institutions were doing enough.”

DDAD plans to build a national network of grassroots activists who will help with “downstream” efforts to counter lies with truth as well as “upstream” initiatives to inflict financial repercussions on Fox News and similar purveyors of disinformation that will permanently change the disinformation landscape. National networking will be facilitated using crowdsourced mapping apps DDAD has developed with Ushahidi, a Kenyan company that grew out of the need for remote election integrity monitors to report poll incidents. 

DDAD is specifically targeting Fox News opinion programs, a major source of disinformation that is then amplified across widely used social media platforms. Fox makes immense profits by stoking fear, division, outrage, and hatred.  While a growing number of money-making entities are copying its model, Fox Corp. is in a league of its own, DDAD believes, and poses “a unique danger.”

DDAD’s upstream attack on Fox Corp. includes support for corporate restructuring that would prioritize journalistic integrity and greater federal funding of public media. 

Fight Fox

As these projects move forward, there are several actions you can take now to fight Fox and the spread of disinformation:

• Push for Fox-free cable options in your area. Work with local governments to sign up cable television services with packages that exclude Fox. Both Verizon Fios and Spectrum have such offerings (more HERE). Comcast does not. Cutting the cable cord and streaming television content is another option providing you’re willing to forego a variety of news channels. (All streaming news packages include Fox News).
• Change the channel. Ask local restaurants, offices, and other public spaces to switch away from Fox programs when you see them. Read more and see training videos HERE.
• Support your local press. Subscribe to your town newspaper — or one in a “news desert,” where reliable reporting is limited (suggestions HERE) — and donate to public broadcasters dedicated to the flow of truthful reporting.  ​
• Subscribe to DDAD’s newsletter HERE. 

Concord Indivisible has made disinformation a primary focus of its work in the coming year. If you’d like to join our counter-disinformation team, please contact us at info@concordindivisible.org.