The Democracy Truth Project (DTP) is one of the four pillars of LWV’s “Women Power Democracy” campaign.
Its goal is to provide the public with the information and tools to participate in American democracy and restore trust in the political system. In doing so, it counters harmful mis-, dis-, and malinformation. DTP does this through four key activities:
- Communicating the truth;
- Advocating on behalf of voters;
- Listening and staying alert; and
- Promoting the right to vote.
Mis-, Dis-, and Malinformation
In elections, people rely on accurate information to make informed decisions about the candidates and issues they vote on. But the spread of mis-, dis-, and malinformation threatens this decision-making process. Whether the untruths focus on the candidates at hand or the voting process, they threaten our ability to engage in the civic process.
- Misinformation is false, incomplete, or misleading content shared by people without ill intent.
- Disinformation is false or inaccurate information shared intentionally.
- Malinformation is information based on truth but shared with the intent to attack a person, idea, or group.
The Democracy Truth Project aims to counter mis-, dis-, and malinformation by promoting the facts and equipping voters to identify unreliable info when they see it.
How the Democracy Truth Project Tackles Mis- and Disinformation
The best defense against the spread of mis-, dis-, and mal-information is to highlight the truth through organizing, building relationships, and informing the public how to recognize unreliable information.
Democracy Truth Project One-Pager
The Democracy Truth Project cultivates strategy, strengthens coalition-building, and develops a bold and civically courageous electorate to counter mis-, dis- and malinformation and advance public understanding of the democratic and electoral process. It builds rapport with local election officials and empowers trusted messengers to promote accurate information on voting and elections in their communities.
The Democracy Truth Project cohort educates the public on how to spot mis-and-dis-information, works closely with election officials to spread correct information on election administration, and shares messaging toolkits with voters nationwide.
Grant funding from the Democracy Truth Project promotes essential work such as social media monitoring to inoculate voters against bad actors, training with local League leaders on combatting mis-and-disinformation, digital ads that promote accurate election info via VOTE411.org, and educational resources on how to become election observers and poll workers.
In the most recent grant year, the Democracy Truth Project achieved the following:
- 7,527,036 people engaged online.
- 322,634 people engaged in person.
- 18,521 volunteers recruited.
- 4,620 educational events/rallies/forums hosted.
- 3,615 state and local partners engaged.
- 1,915 trainings held.
What Can You Do?
Explore our archive of Democracy Truth Project Resources to guide you on the journey of identifying, navigating, and building up networks to combat mis-and-disinformation:
Trainings
- Building Resilience to mis-and-disinformation: Training to serve your community, 9/9/22
- Building Resilience to mis-and-disinformation: Training to serve your community, 9/7/22
- Productive Conversations without Confrontation, in partnership with The News Literacy Project
- Understanding Media Literacy: How to Stay Informed, Engaged, and in the Know
