Meta’s misinformation problem has local election officials struggling to get out the truth
Derek Bowens has never had such an important job. He’s the director of elections in Durham County, North Carolina, one of the most populous areas in a state that’s increasingly viewed as crucial to the 2024 presidential contest.
So when a former precinct official emailed Bowens in July to warn him of a post containing voting misinformation that was spreading virally on Facebook, Bowens quickly recognized that he may be facing a crisis.
The post, written as if from an authority on the subject, said voters should request new ballots if a poll worker, or anyone else, writes anything on their form, because it would be invalidated. The same incorrect message was spread on Facebook during the 2020 election, but the platform flagged the content at the time as “false information” and linked to a story that debunked the rumor by Facebook’s fact-checking partner, USA Today.
Bowens said no such tag appeared on the post, which was widespread enough that the North Carolina State Board of Elections had to issue a press release on Aug. 2, informing voters that false “posts have been circulating for years and have resurfaced recently in many N.C. counties.”
Across the U.S., with 40 days until the Nov. 5 election, state and local officials say they are puzzled by what to expect from Facebook. Like in the past two presidential election cycles, the spread of misinformation on the social network has threatened to disrupt voting in what’s expected to be another razor-thin contest decided by thousands of voters in a handful of states. Recently, a Facebook post containing a false claim about Haitian immigrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, ballooned out of control and gained resonance after it was repeated by Republican nominee Donald Trump in a debate.
Two-thirds of voters say the country is on the wrong track ahead of the 2024 election
Two in three voters say the country is on the “wrong track,” as voters weigh whether Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump would be better able to change that less than two months from Election Day.
The latest NBC News national poll finds 65% of registered voters surveyed earlier this month say the country is on the wrong track, while 28% say it’s on the right track.
The figure is one of the “warning signs” for Democrats ahead of November, said Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates, who conducted the poll along with GOP pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies.
GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz tells ethics panel he'll no longer 'voluntarily' cooperate with the committee's investigation into him
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said in a letter today addressing the leaders of the House Ethics Committee that he “will no longer voluntarily participate” in the panel’s investigation into him.
He said a recent letter from the committee revealed that its probe “is more about enforcing House rules — and is uncomfortably nosey.”
“You ask, in part, whether I’ve had sex with a list of adult women over the past seven years. The lawful, consensual, sexual activities of adults are not the business of Congress,” he wrote.
Gaetz wrote that it’s his understanding “that the Committee has issued, but not served, a subpoena for my testimony.” He said he reserves “all of my rights pursuant to House Rules and the U.S. Constitution.”
The Florida Republican also denied that he engaged in sexual activity with any individual under 18. “The answer to this question is unequivocally NO,” he wrote.
The committee declined to comment.
The committee said in June that it was continuing to evaluate allegations against the congressman, including that he accepted improper gifts and engaged in sexual misconduct and illegal drug use.
Sentencing in Hunter Biden gun case rescheduled for Dec. 12
The sentencing hearing for Hunter Biden's federal gun case has officially been pushed to Dec. 12.
Judge Noreika handed down the order a short time after prosecutors asked that his scheduled Dec. 4 sentencing be pushed back a week because it conflicts with the trial of a former FBI informant who’s been charged with making false statements about Biden.
Biden's attorneys did not oppose the request.
Some appeals court judges express skepticism over Trump fraud judgment
Some members of the five-judge panel hearing Trump's appeal of his almost $500 million judgment expressed skepticism over Attorney General Letitia James' case.
"You've got two really sophisticated parties and nobody lost any money," Justice David Friedman told Deputy Solicitor General Judith Vale, who's arguing on behalf of the AG's office. The judge said the fraud had no impact on the public — a position Vale immediately pushed back on.
"It hurts the market as a whole," because the bank doing business with Trump wasn't aware of the true risk, she said. It also "hurts honest participants in the market," Vale said.
Two other judges, John Higgitt and Peter Moulton, expressed concern about the scope of the AG's powers, and Moulton called the size of the judgment "troubling." Vale said the award was large because the amount of fraud was large and went on for an expanded period of time.
Justice Dianne Renwick pushed back against some of her colleagues' questions by noting the law the AG used in the case was passed "to protect honesty and integrity in the commercial market."
During his argument, Trump's attorney John Sauer focused on statute of limitations issues, which none of the judges asked Vale about until she brought the subject up. The judges are expected to rule at a later date.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries calls NYC mayor's indictment a 'sober moment'
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called the indictment of New York Mayor Eric Adams a “serious and somber moment” for the city.
“Like every other New Yorker and American, Eric Adams is entitled to the presumption of innocence,” Jeffries said in a statement. “That principle is central to the administration of justice in the United States of America.”
Operative behind Biden deepfake has 30 days to pay $6 million fine
Federal authorities formally imposed a $6 million fine on the political operative who admitted to NBC News that he orchestrated a deepfake robocall impersonating Biden.
The Federal Communications Commission had earlier proposed the fine in the hopes of reaching a settlement with Kramer, but he did not engage on that, so the agency’s commissioners voted today to order him to pay the full amount. Kramer has 30 days to pay or it will be referred to the U.S. Department of Justice for collection.
“The misuse of generative AI technology and spoofing to interfere in elections undermines the foundation of our democracy and poses a significant threat,” the FCC’s head of enforcement, Loyaan Egal, said, pledging that authorities “will be vigilant in safeguarding our democratic freedoms.”
A spokesperson for Kramer declined to comment.
The robocall — the first known deepfake in American national politics — used a clone of Biden’s voice to make it appear as if he were telling New Hampshire voters not to turn out ahead of the state’s Democratic presidential primary in January. The message was sent from an illegally spoofed phone number, and a company involved in the delivering it agreed to pay a $1 million fine to the FCC for its role.
Kramer also faces 26 criminal counts of voter suppression and impersonating a public official in New Hampshire, as well as civil suit brought by the state’s chapter of the League of Women Voters.
Biden admin offers $20 million reward for info on Iranian charged with plot to kill ex-Trump official John Bolton
The Biden administration is offering a reward of up to $20 million for information on a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who is charged with plotting to kill Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton.
U.S. authorities say Shahram Poursafi allegedly worked to arrange a murder-for-hire scheme targeting Bolton between 2021 and 2022, seeking to hire criminals in the U.S. to kill Bolton in Washington, D.C., or Maryland in exchange for $300,000.
“Poursafi told the potential assassin — who actually became a confidential source for U.S. investigators — that once he completed the Bolton murder he would have a second assassination job for him,” the State Department said in a statement announcing the reward.
Harris laid out her vision for the economy in her first one-on-one national TV interview since becoming the Democratic nominee. Meanwhile, Trump is slamming her for not doing enough to make things better during her time in office. NBC’s Peter Alexander reports for “TODAY.”
U.S. Capitol Police urge Hill offices to 'remain vigilant' after Sen. Ben Cardin's deepfake incident
The U.S. Capitol Police said they are investigating the deepfake Zoom call that targeted Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Ben Cardin, D-Md.
“Last week someone attempted to impersonate a foreign official on a virtual meeting with a Senator’s office. Fortunately, the staff noticed the person’s behavior was suspicious and they reported it,” the Capitol Police wrote. “We are working with our federal partners to investigate further. We urge everyone on Capitol Hill to remain vigilant and report anything suspicious to law enforcement.”
The caller, who was not identified, posed as former Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba, according to a notice from the Senate’s security office that was obtained by NBC News.