Center for an Informed Public

Here's the latest from our @cip.uw.edu election rumor research team ... ⤵️⤵️⤵️ 🧵On Tuesday, Wedgewood Polls released a statement admitting that their polling was fake and justifying it as part of a social experiment to draw attention to low oversight in polling.

One risk around this discovery is that the existence of fake polls will fuel distrust in election polling across the political spectrum and could be used to bolster “rigged election” claims after election results are announced.

Here's the latest from our @cip.uw.edu election rumor research team ... ⤵️⤵️⤵️ 🧵On Tuesday, Wedgewood Polls released a statement admitting that their polling was fake and justifying it as part of a social experiment to draw attention to low oversight in polling.

News of this admission — the second case of “fake polls” this cycle — was quickly amplified and wrapped into a number of different rumors and narratives. Conversation and framing contests around this news continue.

🧵Our @cip.uw.edu election rumor research team published a new Election Rumor Rundown memo on recent emergent rumors including: 1️⃣How a key DHS report of foreign parts in voting machines spawned false rumors of foreign election interference.

2️⃣How a rumor of "ballot dumping" in Valley Center, California contributes to false narratives of mass mail-in voting fraud. 3️⃣Prediction market platforms post election administration-related headlines

🧵New from the @cip.uw.edu election rumor research team. ⤵️⤵️⤵️ The conversations around two incidents in Utah and Texas follow well-worn patterns where false rumors and misleading narratives emerge alongside legitimate criticism of real issues involving election administration.

These false rumors and misleading narratives draw upon deeper stories and diminished trust in elections, rooted in varying degrees of truth, within political communities on the right and left.

🧵New from the @cip.uw.edu election rumor research team. ⤵️⤵️⤵️ The conversations around two incidents in Utah and Texas follow well-worn patterns where false rumors and misleading narratives emerge alongside legitimate criticism of real issues involving election administration.

🧵The @cip.uw.edu election rumor research team is ramping up work ahead of the 2026 U.S. midterm elections to help everyday people — along with journalists and content creators — navigate the increasingly convoluted information landscape. Learn more: www.cip.uw.edu/2026/09/03/c...

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🧵The @cip.uw.edu election rumor research team is ramping up work ahead of the 2026 U.S. midterm elections to help everyday people — along with journalists and content creators — navigate the increasingly convoluted information landscape. Learn more: www.cip.uw.edu/2026/09/03/c...

A recent @brennancenter.org expert brief co-authored by @cip.uw.edu graduate research assistant @zarine.net explores how attacks on legitimate polls and the rise of fake polls make it challenging for voters to know what to believe. Read more: www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...

In a recent article published in the journal Social Epistemology, @cip.uw.edu faculty member and UW philosophy professor Carole Lee says that AI science evaluation tools should be scrutinized through a "critically engaged pragmatism" framework. www.cip.uw.edu/2026/08/11/a...

In the article, Lee writes that it is "imperative that the creators of AI tools transparently and fully report details about how they are designed, trained, and benchmarked to facilitate assessments of their purpose-specific reliability, liability to different kinds of error, and bias."

As @seattletimes.com recently wrote, the educational programming our @cip.uw.edu team has developed for K-12 classrooms in WA and beyond in recent years "has reached more than 70,000 students since it began 'Misinfo Day' events and educator training in 2019." www.seattletimes.com/opinion/proj...

🧵@cip.uw.edu researcher @zarine.net recently co-authored a @brennancenter.org expert brief with Brennan's Kate Lurie exploring how the threat of foreign influence on U.S. elections remains as federal defenses recede. [1/3] www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

Though the behavior of Russia, China and Iran is not new, "this year, their access to sophisticated artificial intelligence tools and the lack of federal governmental pushback against them will likely require additional diligence from voters to ensure that they have accurate information." [2/3]

In two recent expert briefs on election misinformation co-authored with Meredith Berger of @brennancenter.org, @cip.uw.edu senior research scientist Rachel Moran-Prestridge explores how news deserts and prediction markets could influence voters who may not be fully informed.

In one article, "In Election Betting, Voters Face the Highest Stakes, Berger and Moran write about how "unregulated prediction market betting could fuel misinformation and efforts to influence election outcomes." www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

Our @cip.uw.edu team is currently seeking applications for an Education Initiatives Manager, with a June 23 priority deadline. Full position description, responsibilities, qualifications, compensation, benefits and other application information: wd5.myworkdaysite.com/en-US/recrui...

The Education Initiatives Manager serves as the primary subject matter expert and facilitator for the CIP’s signature programs, including MisinfoDay, the Community Fellowship, Media Mentorship, and the Loki’s Loop game series.

We're pleased to honor University of Virginia associate professor @davidnemer.com, author of "Technology of the Oppressed: Inequity and the Digital Mundane in Favelas of Brazil," with the 2026 @cip.uw.edu Award for Impact & Excellence. www.cip.uw.edu/2026/06/01/d...

In a new Soundside segment, @kuow.org featured Ageless Intelligence, an intergenerational learning event our @cip.uw.edu team co-hosted this winter in Sedro-Woolley, where high school students and senior citizens in Skagit County swapped skills and community knowledge. www.kuow.org/stories/teen...