Anatomy of Fake News
Yesterday afternoon, numerous conservative media outlets reported that the Wisconsin State Assembly had voted to “decertify” their state’s ten electoral votes that were cast for Joe Biden in 2020.
The original story appeared on the Gateway Pundit, which has a reputation for publishing first and asking questions later. “Huge Breaking News!” the headline boasted. “Wisconsin votes to withdraw its 10 electors.”
Within minutes, other conservative websites had picked up the story. Creative Destruction Media was one of the first, and their story was posted on alternative social media site Gab last night. Kari Lake, the Trump-endorsed Republican candidate for governor in Arizona, reposted the story on her Twitter account. Conservatives excitedly shared the news all over social media. The long-awaited decertification of the 2020 election was finally happening!
Or was it?
A few minutes after the Gateway Pundit published their story yesterday afternoon, Republican Representative Jim Steineke, the majority leader in the Wisconsin State Assembly, responded succinctly:
So what had actually happened?
Representative Timothy Ramthun made a point of order regarding his resolution to withdraw the electoral votes. Despite having no cosponsors, assembly rules require that privileged resolutions be referred to committee for discussion. That happened without a vote. The resolution now awaits discussion in the rules committee, and chances are this is the last we will hear of it.
After Representative Steineke’s tweet, the Gateway Pundit updated their story and their headline to more accurately reflect what had happened in Wisconsin. However, the fire had been lit. The story has been spreading throughout conservative media for hours now, and many people are still posting the original version of the headline without double checking their sources. Just this morning, the conservative news site National File published an article with a completely inaccurate headline:
I understand the frustration and zeal that many of you are feeling. The 2020 election was cataclysmic, from changing state and national laws to discrepancies in the vote count to the way poll workers were counting ballots. We all want to fix our broken system, but we have to keep our focus in the realm of the possible. The 2020 election will not be reversed, even if states like Wisconsin make symbolic votes to withdraw their electors.
I doubt it will even get that far, as most (if not all) states have nothing in their own laws providing for decertification:
“There is no procedure under Wisconsin law for “decertifying” or “pulling back” a slate of presidential electors who have been appointed pursuant to state statutes.” - Milwaukee Journal Sentinal
The same Representative Steineke who corrected the record last night also chairs the rules committee of the State Assembly. He says there is zero chance that the resolution will go anywhere. It is okay to disagree with his reasoning, and it would be fair to contact him and respectfully express that disagreement, but we must stick to the truth. Passion is good! Just make sure you keep your focus where you can do the most good.
Our side must be more careful with how we handle the news. We have to be discerning!
Train your “BS Detector” to sniff out fake news.
Read the story, not just the headline.
Follow source links.
Find additional stories to corroborate what you have read.
Go straight to the source - the proceedings of state legislatures are recorded on their websites.
Follow up on the story the next day, the next week, to see how it develops.
Test your predictions against what ends up happening.
If a story sounds too good to be true, then that is when we need discernment the most. We cannot keep promoting fake news just because we want it to be so. Like the boy who cried wolf, nothing will kill our credibility more than consistently sharing fake or misleading stories. Scripture implores us to rightly handle the Word of Truth, and I believe that should apply to lowercase-t truth as well. Let the conservative movement be known for truth, accuracy, and transparency, not wild rumors and fake news.