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September 19, 2024

US Election Platform Preparedness: Comparative Analysis

ISD-US

Data Access and Transparency, Democratic Integrity, Targeted Threats, Hate and Abuse

Ellen Jacobs, Clara Martiny, Max Read, Ella Meyer and Isabelle Frances-Wright

An analysis of this review is available here.

Ahead of the increasingly polarized US 2024 presidential election which has seen an increasingly obscured information environment, and a significant increase in hate speech and violent threats, ISD has assessed platforms’ policies, public commitments and product interventions.

ISD looked across six major issue areas: platform integrity, violent extremism and hate speech, internal and external resourcing, transparency, political advertising and state-affiliated media. While divergences were common across the platforms, one of the most alarming throughlines across all issue areas was a lack of transparency, particularly when it came to the details of platforms’ policies, safety efforts and resourcing.

In the media

Russian disinformation campaigns amplify divisive narratives ahead of elections

Social media’s role in spreading disinformation about the electoral process

ISD’s Max Read speaks to NPR about acts of arson targeting ballot boxes in Washington and Oregon

ISD Contributors

Ellen Jacobs
Digital Policy Manager, ISD US

Clara Martiny

Clara Martiny
Digital Research Analyst

Max Read
Director of Civic Innovation