(NNPA)–Trupania Bonner is quick to warn groups registering minorities to vote to be alert for cybertricks.
His training class for civic engagement groups now includes discussions about cyberthreats and the Media and Democracy Institute’s new resource guide coming out this month features tips on how to help guard against hackers and interference through social media.
“We’re telling groups not only should they pay attention to what happens in the voting booth on Election Day, but what happens long before Election Day,” said Bonner, a facilitator for the New Orleans-based group that provides get-out-the-vote training across the South. “It’s just being on the lookout for fake websites, fake social media sites or ones nudging you to support a candidate or sway you from a particular candidate.”
The institute’s effort is one of several civil rights and civic engagement groups are adopting to protect against cyberthreats and other attempts to interfere through social media ahead of midterm elections as many organizations ramp up get-out-the vote campaigns targeting minorities.
The campaigns rely heavily on social media to reach voters and share information, including where and how to register. But groups worry that comes with the risk of manipulation and hacking so they’re taking it upon themselves to beef up security.
“That is a serious concern,” said Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, which has launched a national GOTV effort. “I am actually shocked that Congress and this administration are not taking much more serious the threat of a foreign nation tampering with our election.”
The effort comes in the wake of U.S. intelligence reports that Russians attempted to meddle in the 2016 elections.
Civil rights groups also point to reports that hackers tried to use social media platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, to fuel racial divisiveness and spread misinformation particularly to minority voters. Federal officials said Russians also hacked Democratic political groups. Blacks traditionally tend to support Democratic candidates.
Microsoft said recently it uncovered Russian hackers targeting political groups and conservative think tanks.
Ray Block, a political scientist and associate professor of African-American and Africana studies at the University of Kentucky, said he’s not sure Russian hackers will try again but noted that many believe they will.
“Whether we can fight is up to us,” Block said. “The idea is you don’t want people to start thinking that people on the outside could have more sway over what happens in our elections than we do on the inside. I feel like that sentiment is strong enough that I would suspect that there should be some bipartisan effort before the midterm election rolls around to ensure that the public doesn’t feel like the legitimacy of the upcoming elections hasn’t been compromised by the specter of what happened in 2016.”
States recently received $380 million in federal funds approved by Congress to help protect against cyberthreats. State election officials say they need more money.
Civil rights group said they can’t wait for Congress.
The NAACP set up a system for its members to text the word NAACP to a special number, so they communicate directly to share information and alerts about problems at the polls.
Johnson said the NAACP developed the program to counter reports that hackers used social media to push false information.
“We don’t want to take anything for granted considering the lack of action this administration and Congress have taken to ensure the integrity of the midterm election,” he said.
Bonner said he urges civic engagement groups to anticipate more attacks.
“The alarms are already going off,” he said, noting the Microsoft announcement. “I do believe this will intensify in coming months.”
The Rev. Gregory Holston, executive director of POWER (Philadelphians Organized to Witness, Empower and Rebuild), is relying on direct contact with voters to counter misinformation attempts. He said it’s also important to focus on local issues.
“That Russian piece is not about the local piece, so give people a reason to vote on the local level and then they’ll be less susceptible to those” outside influences, he said.
