ARKANSAS, USA — Whether you're scrolling through Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, or anything else, you're probably seeing more people sharing their political opinions right now. That includes photos and videos, but not all of them reflect reality.
As the November election approaches, Arkansas election planners are leaving no stone unturned to safeguard the voting process.
Chris Madison, the Director of the Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners, says they've been hard at work since last October.
One of his concerns? The potential impact of artificial intelligence spreading misinformation far and wide before it can be debunked.
"It's that idea that it's able to create stuff faster than you're able to get true information out and across," Madison said. "And the challenge with social media unfortunately is oftentimes you're in an echo chamber of similar viewpoints, right. So if you see or hear something that confirms your worldview, you're more likely to believe that."
He says even routine actions by election workers can be twisted into misleading narratives.
"Let's say we have an incident at a polling location that's legitimate," Madison said. "We have a marking device that malfunctions and has to be taken out of service. It's equipment, it can happen. What I don't want happening is someone saying, 'Hey, some election official is working with this device,' and that little granule of truth turning into a really big, blown-up story of mistruth where 'they're messing with the equipment, or there's something wrong with the equipment.' Well, no, they're just doing what they're supposed to."
Madison explained that's why his office is proactive with their communication while building relationships with the public and news agencies.
"Don't believe everything you see on social media, right," Madison emphasized. "Your election officials are your neighbors; I mean they really are. They have to live in the county to be an election official in your county. That's a requirement...so if you have questions about your county or about your election process, reach out to your local election officials. Your county board, your county clerk, your county coordinator, and if you don't know who they are, call me at the state board, my name's Chris Madison, you can call us, and we will find who you can talk to in your county."
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