Our Top Six Tips to Navigate Social Media This Election Season

3 Things You Should Know

Tip 1 - Social media makes you angry by design – because anger sells

Algorithms boost content that stirs strong emotions, especially anger. This maxes engagement and profits ​

Tip 2 - Content quality has plummeted as platforms cut back on safety

Mass layoffs and removal of important safety rules drops the quality of content on your feed 

Tip 3 - AI will make it harder to tell fact from fiction

AI produces convincing fakes of both audio and video to further reduce trust in the facts

— and 3 Things You Can Do

Tip 4 - Take control to reduce low-quality info in your social media feed

They will give you the most accurate info, and protect you from the efforts to mislead you on social media

Tip 5 - Rely on your local elections’ office for elections information

You must adjust your settings on Facebook and Instagram from the default to minimize low-quality content

Tip 6 - Make sure you’re registered to vote

New laws and misleading info will try to rob you of your vote – make sure you’re registered to vote at Vote.org 


The Democracy and Internet Governance Initiative (DIGI) is a research effort that examines the role of digital platforms in society, their governance structures, and their impact.

Through convenings, workshops, and interviews, the DIGI project aims to foster a dialogue on societal issues related to digital platforms to promote public purpose.