More Concern for the 2020 Census: Misinformation on Social Media

The Census Bureau expects misinformation campaigns like those leading to the 2016 President Election to sway the results of the 2020 Census.

1 minute read

February 4, 2019, 6:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


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U.S. Government / Wikimedia Commons

In addition to a long-time vacancy at the head of the Census Bureau, a lack of support from the Trump administration, and ongoing litigation of a proposed citizenship question, add misinformation campaigns to the list of concerns heading into the 2020 Census.

"The Census Bureau expects bad actors to target the 2020 count with the same online misinformation tactics that plagued the 2016 election, and it’s building a plan to fight back," reports Jack Corrigan.

In fact, misinformation is one the Census Bureau's primary concerns heading into the 2020 Census.

"By spreading false information through social media, [Census Deputy Director Ron Jarmin] said, adversaries could suppress participation in the 2020 count, just as they did in the last presidential race," according to Corrigan.

Thursday, January 31, 2019 in Nextgov

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