This compares to roughly 1,213 websites of actual and legitimate local newspapers, according to Northwestern University’s Local News Initiative project. Nearly 45% of these phony sites target regions and voters in swing states such as Illinois, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Florida. Phony sites try to influence people in key statesThe research highlights the significant concern and potential impact these phony news sites can have on one of the nation’s most sacred democratic processes. How do these sites surpass legitimate local news sites? This geographic coverage gap makes it easy for these phony sites to fill the gap with misinformation or false narratives, potentially influencing the outcome of elections.

Source: The Nation June 14, 2024 14:04 UTC