Election 2018 Misinformation Roundup: ‘Problematic’ Text Messages and Doctored Mailers

Author: Justin Bank / Source: New York Times

[To help readers better understand the information landscape in this election season, journalists at The Times have been collecting examples of electioneering that have the potential to confuse or mislead voters. If you see a suspicious post or text, please take a screenshot and share it with us.]

Texts from ‘Trump’

It’s an old get-out-the-vote technique applied to a new medium. Voters in several battleground states are receiving text messages telling them that their ballots have not yet been received. The messages then invite recipients to visit a website run by the Republican National Committee, where they are asked to enter their email address and other information.

Rebecca Mase, a clinical research project manager at the University of Michigan, received a text that said it was from “Pres. Trump” and warned Ms. Mase that her ballot had not been submitted. But Ms. Mase, who described herself as a “longtime Democrat,” said that she had recently submitted an absentee ballot and even checked to make sure it had been received. She later got a second text message telling her that her ballot was still “outstanding.”