Local group fighting back against social media disinformation

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT)- With the rising popularity of social media, disinformation is becoming more of a concern, especially its influence on our elections.

A local, non-partisan group called LeaderEthics-Wisconsin is taking steps to try to ensure integrity in our elections.

The group wrote a letter to Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul and other state-wide leaders recently asking for their support.

They’re reminding them of the law regarding making false statements that could alter an election and also asking them to look at how they can improve the existing law.

The group’s executive director says they’re particularly concerned about the silence surrounding social media disinformation.

“In the process of being silent, we’re actually endorsing the continuation of that process and many people feel the information that’s going into and manipulating elections is getting worse and unless we have elected leaders who stand-up and say we can do something about that, it’s not going to improve,” said LeaderEthics-Wisconsin Executive Director Lee Rasch.

The group cited a 2019 study from Sterns Center of NYU that notes sources of disinformation are likely to come from within U.S. borders.

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