Information and Misinformation in Elections Conference

January 16-17, 2025 | Virtual (Caltech)

Conference Organizers | R. Michael Alvarez, Caltech and Betsy Sinclair, WashU

On January16-17, 2025, a two-day virtual research and practitioner conference—Information and Misinformation in Elections—was held virtually to discuss to discuss research about information and misinformation during  the 2024 U.S. elections and other recent elections.

The event was organized and led by Flintridge Foundation Professor of Political and Computational Social Science at Caltech R. Michael Alvarez, Co-Director of the Linde Center for Science, Society, and Policy (LCSSP) at Caltech and Thomas F. Eagleton Professor of Public Affairs and Political Science at WashU, Betsy Sinclair, Assistant Vice Provost of Digital Transformations at WashU.

Research topics included how campaigns used innovative new approaches to target and persuade voters, how social media influenced voters, what the electorate knew (or did not know) about the candidates and issues, misinformation in elections, election rumors and denialism, rhetoric about election integrity, and conspiracy theories regarding the candidates and the administration of elections. We also heard from practitioners during this event about their experiences with misinformation in recent elections.

This conference was sponsored by the LCSSP, the Haynes Foundation, the Caltech Election Integrity Project and the WashU Political Science Department. Please see the conference agenda below which lists our speakers with links to their bios and affiliations and links to video recordings of their presentations, along with applicable slides.

If you have questions about the conference, please visit the LCSSP Democracy & Elections section of the LCSSP website, or email us at: lcssp@hss.caltech.edu.

AGENDA

Day 1: January 16

Information and How it Mattered in the 2024 Election

Welcome & Introductions (video)

  • Michael Alvarez, Flintridge Foundation Professor of Political and Computational Social Science, Caltech & Co-Director, Linde Center for Science, Society, and Policy (LCSSP) at Caltech

  • Frederick Eberhardt, Professor of Philosophy, Caltech & Co-Director, Linde Center for Science, Society & Policy (LCSSP) at Caltech

Keynote | How the Economy Shaped the 2024 Election (video)

  • Lynn Vavreck, Marvin Hoffenberg Professor of American Politics and Public Policy, University of California, Los Angeles (slides)

  • Betsy Sinclair, Thomas F. Eagleton University Professor of Public Affairs and Political Science, Chair of the Department of Political Science, and Assistant Vice Provost of Digital Transformations at Washington University in St. Louis - Moderator

Information and Misinformation Problems and Solutions from the Field: Election Official and Stakeholder Lightning Talks (video)

  • Natalie Adona, Clerk-Recorder, Nevada County, California

  • Kim Alexander, President & Founder, California Voter Foundation (slides)

  • Tina Barton, Senior Election Expert, The Elections Group

  • Tommy Gong, Deputy County Clerk-Recorder, Contra Costa County, California (slides)

  • Dean Logan, Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, Los Angeles County, California (slides)

  • Bob Page, The County of Orange Registrar of Voters, California (slides)

  • Edwin Smith, Vice President, Government Solutions, Government Solutions, MTX Group

  • Michael Alvarez - Moderator

Poster Presentation Session (video)

  • Herbert Chang, Assistant Professor of Quantitative Social Science, Dartmouth College, “Visual Platforms and Generative AI: Effects on Political Discourse and Policy Preference in the 2024 U.S. Elections” (slides)

  • Ross Dahlke, PhD Student, Stanford Social Media Lab, Stanford University, “The Public Sphere in Private Spaces: Exposure to Politics and Misinformation in Personal Messaging Applications During the 2024 Presidential Election” (slides)

  • Jacob Devasier, PhD Student, University of Texas at Arlington, “Fighting Misinformation in the 2024 Elections: A Case Study on Voting Claims Using ClaimsLens” (slides)

  • Corrie Emerson, Communications Director, Verified Voting, “Bridging the Knowledge Gap: How Effective Communication about Election Audits Can Strengthen Voter Confidence” (slides)

  • Michael Alvarez - Moderator

Information and Voter Views of Election Integrity

Keynote | Trust and Integrity in the 2024 Election: The View from the Voters (video)

  • Charles Stewart III, Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology & Director, MIT Election Data and Science Lab (slides)

  • Betsy Sinclair - Moderator

Perspectives from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (video)

Research Presentations (video)

  • Emily Beaulieu Bacchus, Chair, Political Science Professor, University of Kentucky, “Institutional Heterogeneity, Information, and Voting Behavior” (slides)

  • Christina Farhart, Associate Professor of Political Science, Carleton College, “Partisan Colored Glasses and Tinfoil Hats: Electoral (Il)Legitimacy in the 2020 and 2024 U.S. Presidential Elections” (slides)

  • Lisa Bryant, Professor of Political Science and Department Chair, California State University, Fresno & Paul Manson, Research Assistant Professor, Center for Public Service, Portland State University, “Election Skepticism and Election Administration: How Misinformation Leads to Administrative Change” (slides)

  • Ruth Elisabeth Appel, PhD Candidate, Bechtel International Center, Stanford University, “How Deceptive Online Networks Reached Millions in the U.S. 2020 Elections”

  • Thad Kousser, Professor of Political Science, University of California, San Diego, “Field Experimental Evidence of the Impact of a Public Information Campaign on Truth in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election” (slides)

  • Betsy Sinclair - Moderator

Day 2: January 17

Misinformation, Conspiratorial Thinking, and Disinformation in the 2024 Election

Poster Presentation Session (video)

  • Aarushi Kalra, PhD Candidate and Course Instructor, Brown University, “Hate in the Time of Algorithms: Evidence from a Large-Scale Experiment on Online Behavior” (slides)

  • Yuehong Cassandra Tai, Assistant Research Professor and Assistant Director of the Center for Social Data Analytics, PennState, “Elected Officials' Online Sharing of Misinformation: Institutional and Ideological Checks” (slides)

  • Sejin Paik, Assistant Research Professor, Massive Data Institute, McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University, “How Human? Analyzing the Perceived Humanness of AI-Generated Social Media Content Around the U.S. 2024 Presidential Election” (slides)

  • Joseph Sherlock, PhD Candidate, London School of Economics & Political Science, “Election Doctors: Who are Effective and Trustworthy Messengers for Election-Related Communications?”

  • Stuart Soroka, Professor, Departments of Communication and Political Science, University of California, Los Angeles and Christopher Wlezien, Hogg Professor of Government, University of Texas at Austin, “It’s the Mediated Economy (?), Stupid” (slides)

  • Betsy Sinclair - Moderator

Keynote | The Microtargeting Manipulation Machine (video)

  • Stephan Lewandowsky, Chair in Cognitive Psychology, School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol (slides)

  • Michael Alvarez - Moderator

Research Presentations (video)

  • Joanne Miller, Professor, American Politics, Research Methods and Political Psychology, Director of Graduate Studies, University of Delaware, “Motivated Misperceptions and Public Opinion about Abortion” (slides)

  • Emilio Ferrara, Professor of Computer Science, Associate Chair, Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science, and Director of the Interdisciplinary Data Science Program, School of Advanced Computing, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, “AI & Social Manipulation”

  • Mitchell Linegar, Graduate Student, Caltech, “Prebunking Election Rumors: Artificial Intelligence Assisted Interventions Increase Confidence in American Elections” (slides)

  • Mathieu Lavigne, Postdoctoral Fellow, Quantitative Social Science Program, Dartmouth College, “Correction Mismatch? How Inattention and Selective Exposure Limit the Effects of Election Fraud Debunking” (slides)

  • Betsy Sinclair - Moderator

Improving the Quality of Political Discourse

Research Presentations (video)

  • David Lazer, University Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Computer Sciences and Co-Director, NULab for Digital Humanities and Computational Social Science, Northeastern University, “Building a Shared Infrastructure to Study the Internet” (slides)

  • Jonathan Nagler, Professor of Politics, Co-director, Center for Social Media and Politics, and Director of the Politics Data Center. New York University, “Evolution of Preferences and Media Consumption” (slides)

  • Mindy Romero, Research Assistant Professor and Director, Center for Inclusive Democracy, Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California, “Counter-Framing and Persistence of Election Messaging and Trust in American Elections” (slides)

  • Michael Alvarez - Moderator

Poster Presentation Session (video)

  • Jennifer Merolla, Professor of Political Science, University of California, Riverside, “Does Information about Post-Election Audits Increase the Public’s Trust in Elections?” (slides)

  • Danielle Lee Tomson, Research Manager, Center for an Informed Public, University of Washington, “Evidence Generation Infrastructure for Election Rumors, Left and Right” (slides)

  • Dario Trujano-Ochoa, Graduate Researcher, University of California, Santa Barbara, “The Effect of Feedback on News-Verification Demand: Experimental Evidence” (slides)

  • Zeyu (Allen) Zhang, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Texas at Arlington, “Toward Automated Fact-Checking: Detecting Check-Worthy Factual Claims” (slides)

  • Zhengyuan Zhu, Lead Web Developer & AI Researcher, University of Texas at Arlington, “A Truthfulness Stance Map for 2024 Election-Related Factual Claims” (slides)

  • Michael Alvarez - Moderator

Conference Wrap Up (video)

  • Michael Alvarez and Betsy Sinclair