misinformation 2024 presidential election

America may never have had a presidential election in which voters were more misinformed. We can blame biased reporting, social media scammers, foreign interference, or politicians who purposely mislead us. But ultimately, voters must learn to distinguish fact from fiction.

Thomas Jefferson said“Where people are well informed, they can trust their government.” The good news is that both Democrats and Republicans Recognize that democracy is at stake This coming election, let’s see what happens when voters are deceived about the issues they care about most.

With just a few months left until the November election, America’s most trusted experts and organizations should mount an aggressive national campaign to expose the truth about these issues.

economynew Harris/Guardian Poll Surveys show that nearly three in five Americans believe the economy is in a recession (it’s not; GDP is growing), about half think the stock market has fallen this year (it’s up more than 12%), and half think the unemployment rate is at a 50-year high (it’s near a 50-year low).

Bloomberg reports that the number of Americans without health insurance Lowest in history During President Biden’s first term, the economy nearly 15 million jobs During his first three years in office, more families became financially better off than any other president in history during that same period. Income inequality is narrowingand “Household assets by income bracket It’s more powerful than at any point in the new century.”

Inflation remains a major concern for voters, but Bloomberg says it is falling rapidly. Unparalleled in modern history“The cost of living in the U.S., which rose to a 40-year high during the Biden administration’s first two years, is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels this year,” the company said.

Bloomberg “Given a strong labor market, strengthening household finances, and improving consumer and business confidence, President Biden should have an easy shot at winning a second term,” they conclude.

Immigration: of Associated Press The Associated Press points out that former President Trump has stoked fears about immigrants with false statements that have exposed “the nation’s deepest rifts on race and national identity.”

“Trump has ramped up his anti-immigrant rhetoric in speeches and online posts, portraying immigrants as dangerous criminals who ‘stain American blood,'” the Associated Press noted. Recent Opinion Polls The survey found that roughly two-thirds of Americans are dissatisfied with Biden’s approach to border security.

But as the conservative CATO Institute pointed out in 2021: Many of Donald Trump’s claims are false. For example, immigrants commit crimes at lower rates than native-born Americans; there is less immigration to the United States than to most other wealthy countries; and the policies Trump has adopted to discourage immigration are “capricious in nature” and “violate every fundamental element of the rule of law.”

Biden: Over 500 administrative actions He is seeking to improve immigration policy. Earlier this year, his team and lawmakers reached a bipartisan agreement on the first major reforms in decades, but Republicans The transaction was stopped After Trump announced his opposition, ABC News reported, “With an eye on the November election,It’s easy to see why. Trump doesn’t want immigration reform passed right now.”

Worsening climate changeToday, twice as many voters are concerned about global warming as those who don’t care about it. Their concerns are justified. Climate change is a perpetual threat that has already killed Americans and endangered our economy. Over the past 40 years, major weather disasters have caused nearly $10 billion in damages. $3 trillionIt’s only five months into the year, but experts say One of the worst hurricane seasons on record FEMA has already nearly doubled its major disaster response budget. $1.4 billion deficit by August.

Meanwhile, Biden’s signature climate change policy, the Inflation and Recovery Act (IRA), would invest $370 billion in the nation’s clean energy transition. 280 clean energy projects and $282 billion in investments It is expected to create 175,000 jobs across 44 states.

Mainly because of the IRA. “The energy and climate sector is evolving rapidly.” In the U.S., it projects that renewables, battery storage and nuclear will account for up to 96 percent of new electricity capacity built in the U.S. this year, while solar power production will increase 75 percent in 2025 compared to 2023.

a A study published in January While many voters place issues like the economy high on their priority list, the number of people across both parties who are concerned about climate change is enough to tip the scales in Biden’s favor in November’s election, they concluded. Associated Press Poll This shows that the IRA is “not widely known among the general public and may not provide the electoral boost Biden is seeking.”

To make matters worse, a recent poll found that a third of voters believe clean energy is Negative or neutral impact This will have implications for job growth, the economy and national security. But defense experts say climate change is a major security threat and that job growth in the clean energy sector has outpaced overall U.S. job growth in recent years.

Where does Trump stand? He still supports climate change. “It’s one of the greatest scams of all time.” He further added: Oil executives agree: If oil companies donate an additional $1 billion to Biden’s campaign (about $3 per person in the United States), Biden will reverse his climate change mitigation policies.

One of the biggest misconceptions is that Biden was an incompetent president, but historians just released a “practice survey” ranking Biden as an incompetent president. 14th greatest president out of America’s 46 presidents. That puts him behind leaders such as Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, George Washington, Teddy Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson, but above Ronald Reagan and both former presidents George W. Bush. Trump came in last.

American democracy is in big trouble if it relies on a well-informed electorate. But the major party presidential candidates Habitual liarand the nation’s most-watched cable news network. ConvictedSenate Intelligence Committee Chairman Warns Foreign interference in this year’s election They will be “more sophisticated and more aggressive in both scale and scope.” No wonder voters need some help separating fact from fiction.

William Becker is executive director of the Presidential Climate Action Project (PCAP), a bipartisan initiative founded in 2007 to work with national thought leaders to develop recommendations for national climate and energy policy. He is a former senior official at the U.S. Department of Energy.