AUGUSTA, Maine – Despite claims by some politicians, fake news, social media and search algorithms don't sway public opinion, according to a study by a group of international researchers.

William Dutton, the report's lead author, says if search engines did help create so-called filter bubbles – where users only get links to information with which they agree – the impacts on the democratic process could be huge.

But he says surveys in seven nations including the U.S. found it's not as big a problem as recent media coverage suggests.

"On social media and on the Internet generally, they find a lot of viewpoints that their friends and family, that they disagree with,” he states. “And they often go to search to check the reliability, validity of what they hear on social media."

After Donald Trump's upset victory over Hillary Clinton, pundits and pollsters struggled to find answers and many tagged social media for hosting numerous posts that were outright lies.

Dutton says while a minority of Internet users are not skilled in vetting facts, most are not so easily fooled.

The research – commissioned and funded by Google – was conducted independently by Oxford University, Michigan State University and the University of Ottawa.

Dutton says fears of social media echo chambers also are overstated. He notes the survey of 14,000 people found users agree and disagree with political posts on platforms such as Facebook.

And Dutton says people also are exposed to a variety of perspectives on television, radio and print outlets. He adds users rarely unfriend or block people with whom they disagree.

"Most people who are very interested in politics are relying on all sorts of sources of information and not simply search, or not simply social media," he stresses.

Dutton adds a small percentage of Internet users are not adept at fact checking, and it's important for schools at all levels to give people the tools they need to navigate the Internet's resources when it comes to accepting online claims at face value.

"Every effort to create training and education around media literacy in a multimedia digital environment is still valuable,” he stresses. “But it's not a problem for most users, but it is a problem for some users."






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Voters are consistently reminded to pay attention to local elections.

But in 2024, North Dakota groups are stressing that message even more with many people already looking ahead to the presidential race this fall.

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have essentially locked up their nominations in the race for the White House.

But Janelle Moos, associate state director for advocacy with AARP North Dakota, said voters still should participate in the state's June 11 primary.

There are key statewide races, including deciding nominees for North Dakota's congressional seat and the governor's office.

"There's a lot of new legislative races, some contested," said Moos, "but also, a lot of new candidates running for local office."

That includes park board seats, mayoral elections and races for city council seats around the state.

AARP North Dakota has more voting information on its website. It's also partnering with Prairie Public Broadcasting on a primary debate among GOP candidates for governor April 23 at 7 pm.

The League of Women Voters of Red River Valley is hosting local candidate forums in the Fargo area. Chapter President Randi Dombek said these are good opportunities to become a more informed voter.

"I think the best way is getting the info as much as you can right actually from the candidate," said Dombek, "and not always just trusting what you might see on social media, or what you might hear your neighbor say."

Both organizations say participating in local elections helps people have a bigger say in their calls for safer roads, affordable housing and other quality of life issues.

AARP says that's especially for residents who want to stay in their homes as they age.

A new report dives into election official turnover during more than two decades. It says rates have increased steadily nationwide since 2000, with the highest level in 2022.

Washington state has seen lower rates of turnover than many states, increasing from 23% in 2004 to 33% in 2022, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Rachel Orey - senior associate director of the elections project with the center - said elections have increasingly complex jobs alongside the day-to-day logistics, likely driving turnover.

"Today, election officials must manage everything," said Orey, "from cybersecurity risks posed by foreign adversaries, to public communications of people who are doubting the outcome of elections, to information technology, legal disputes, political pressures, human resources. The list goes on."

While Washington has seen lower turnover rates than other states, the West is projected to have the highest turnover of any region in 2024 - with a rate of nearly 42%.

Orey said recent increases have occurred in larger jurisdictions, which have received the brunt of scrutiny in the wake of the 2020 election.

She said increasing workloads for election officials have coincided with widespread reports of threats and harassment that are making election administration untenable work.

"That's where state and federal legislators can really step in," said Orey, "to provide adequate resources, competitive compensation levels and safety protections for election officials."

However, turnover doesn't necessarily mean the people taking over are inexperienced. Orey said new officials have an average of eight years of experience in top-level positions.

"So, when we see a turnover in a chief election official, it isn't always the case that someone new is coming in who doesn't know what they're doing," said Orey. "Rather, we see more often that it is folks with lots of experience in elections who are stepping into these chief roles."

Support for this reporting was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.



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A trio of mountain west states has similar politics and geography, but one far outpaces its neighbors in voter turnout. Voting numbers in Wyoming are about twice those of neighboring Idaho for local elections. Wyoming also encourages more voters to the polls for local races than Montana, where residents have been historically active in elections.

Alan Durning, executive director of the Sightline Institute, claims there is a simple reason.

"Wyoming schedules its local elections on the same date and the same ballot as national elections. Idaho and Montana hold their local elections in odd years at odd times when far fewer people are motivated to participate," he explained.

Sightline Institute data show turnout for 2022 municipal elections in Wyoming was about 37%. In Idaho's 2021 local elections, turnout was about 19%. Durning says moving elections to even-numbered years could boost engagement in Idaho. However, critics say long ballots could lead voters to lose interest as they get down to local races.

Durning said there are advantages to consolidating elections. His organization estimates Idaho could save about $2.5 million per year if it switched. Durning says even-year elections also increase participation from working-age voters and communities of color.

"Wyoming also gets a more representative turnout. That is, the people who are showing up are closer to the profile of the voters in that place, and one of the results of that is better accountability of local elected officials to the true wishes of the public in their jurisdiction," he explained.

Durning added consolidating elections might decrease the influence of special interests as well.

"There's academic research that shows that low turnout elections tend to give a little more power to the best organized - so to business lobbies or to public employee unions. When the turnout increases, it dilutes the extra influence that those organized interests in the jurisdiction have," he said.


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