In the months before the Bundestag election, there was a lot of fear that disinformation might influence voters. It is clear that the worst-case scenario has not become reality: expertsgenerallyagree that such information did not largely affect the election outcome.
But misinformation still made headlines. Moreover, this content still contributes to our understanding of what kinds of false and misleading information emerges about elections. This is critical to understand if we want to be better prepared for the next election in which mis- or dis-information does play a significant role.
Yesterday, the Catalonian parliament declared independence from Spain; today, the central government in Madrid made good on its promise to impose direct rule on the region, firing the top tier of the government and the chiefs of the police force; Josep Lluís Trapero Álvarez, chief of the regional police force (Mossos d’Esquadra) has been charged with sedition for refusing to block polling places during the independence referendum earlier this week
Pirates enter another parliament: Congratulations to the Czech Pirate Party!
Czech Republic: The Czech Pirate Party is entering Parliament at an estimated 9.7% with half the votes counted. The Czech pirates have fought long and hard, and overcome frustrating setbacks like missing the parliamentary threshold by just 0.2% in the last election. Congratulations to Ivan Bartoš, Mikuláš Ferjenčík, Jakub Michálek, and the entire Czech team!
The Czech Pirates have made quite a name for themselves in recent years.
The political party previously took on a local anti-piracy outfit by launching their own movie download sites, making the point that linking is not a crime.
