The Election Integrity Partnership (EIP) is a project founded in 2020 to defend election integrity against alleged online misinformation. The EIP was formed by the Stanford Internet Observatory, the University of Washington Center for an Informed Public, Graphika, and the Digital Forensic Research Lab at the Atlantic Council, though currently only the first two organizations lead the project. 1 2
The EIP was the brainchild of four Stanford Internet Observatory students interning at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security‘s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA). The EIP has since received federal funding through its founding organizations, and has continued to have a partnership with CISA. 3
2020 Election Report
In July 2021, the Election Integrity Partnership published “The Long Fuse: Misinformation and the 2020 Election.” The report claimed that right-leaning individuals had created a narrative out of false claims that led to conspiracy theories that the election was stolen from then-President Donald Trump and the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The promotion of false claims was led by “blue check” Twitter users, including the president and his family, who “warped” or exaggerated stories about fraud or errors in the election system, particularly pertaining to mail-in voting. The report found that fact-checkers had “mixed results” in combatting the false narrative because they sometimes drew more attention to false claims. Likewise, attempts to stop the spread of misinformation through platform moderation (like user bans) often fed into conspiratorial narratives. 4
The report targeted individuals and groups including former President Donald Trump; U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA); former President Trump’s sons Donald Jr. and Eric; activists including actor James Woods, Turning Point USA head Charlie Kirk, talk show host Sean Hannity, and undercover video journalist James O’Keefe; media outlet Breitbart News, Project Veritas, and One America News Network; and controversial website Gateway Pundit as spreaders of misinformation. The vast majority of entries were right leaning, with a few exceptions including Occupy Democrats. 5
The report recommended that the federal government establish “clear authorities” in charge of countering disinformation, that the U.S. Congress increase funding for election security, and that state and local election officials establish clearer and more standardized election accountability protocols. The report’s recommendations for online platforms include developing their own counter-misinformation producers, refining and intensifying moderation policies, and prioritizing voter education for users. 6
Russian Disinformation
The Election Integrity Partnership has alleged that certain election-related stories were Russian government interference in American elections. Before the 2020 election, an EIP blog post claimed that the Russia-based Internet Research Agency had created and promoted false stories about election integrity failures, particularly those allegedly perpetrated by Democrats. One such story allegedly amplified by Russian assets was that Facebook and Twitter had suppressed a story published by the New York Post containing revelations of possible corruption by Joe Biden found on a laptop that had belonged to Biden’s son Hunter. 7
Censorship Allegations
Robby Starbuck
In October 2022, former Republican congressional candidate Robby Starbuck wrote a post on his Instagram claiming that the Election Integrity Partnership had worked with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. State Department to undermine Republican candidates and conservative activists. Allegedly, the Biden administration had paid the EIP $12 million for its assistance. Allegedly targeted candidates included Starbuck, former President Donald Trump, and U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). 8
Though no evidence emerged to support Starbuck’s claims of purposeful political suppression, the EIP’s parent organizations have received $12 million in federal grants since the election of President Joe Biden, $3 million of which went to the EIP. 9
Just The News
Journalists Gregg Piper and John Soloman at Just the News accused the EIP of facilitating censorship against right-of-center sources. During the 2020 election, the EIP’s staff worked to flag 4,800 URLs on social media websites as misinformation. According to the EIC’s own report, 35% of the flagged URLs had administrative action taken against them, consisting of labeling, removal, or soft blocking. 10 11
No evidence emerged to show that the EIP had colluded with any government agency, but a majority of targeted URLs were from right-of-center sources. 12 13
References
- “Election Integrity Partnership.” Election Integrity Partnership. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://www.eipartnership.net/.
- Cercone, Jeff. “Election Integrity Partnership Targeted Election Misinformation, Not Conservatives.” Poynter, October 14, 2022. https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2022/election-integrity-partnership-targeted-election-misinformation-not-conservatives/
- Cercone, Jeff. “Election Integrity Partnership targeted election misinformation, not conservatives.” Poynter. October 13, 2022. Accessed April 15, 2023. https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2022/election-integrity-partnership-targeted-election-misinformation-not-conservatives/.
- “The Final Report.” EIPartnership. Accessed April 15, 2023. https://www.eipartnership.net/report.
- “The Final Report.” EIPartnership. Accessed April 15, 2023. https://www.eipartnership.net/report.
- “The Final Report.” EIPartnership. Accessed April 15, 2023. https://www.eipartnership.net/report.
- Nimmo, Ben. “Russian Narratives on Election Fraud.” Election Integrity Partnership. Novemeber 3, 2020. Accessed April 15, 2023. https://www.eipartnership.net/2020/russian-narratives-on-election-fraud.
- Cercone, Jeff. “Election Integrity Partnership targeted election misinformation, not conservatives.” Poynter. October 13, 2022. Accessed April 15, 2023. https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2022/election-integrity-partnership-targeted-election-misinformation-not-conservatives/.
- Cercone, Jeff. “Election Integrity Partnership targeted election misinformation, not conservatives.” Poynter. October 13, 2022. Accessed April 15, 2023. https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2022/election-integrity-partnership-targeted-election-misinformation-not-conservatives/.
- Piper, Greg; Soloman, John. “Outsourced Censorship: Feds used private entity to target millions of social posts in 2020.” Just the News. September 30, 2022. Accessed April 15, 2023. https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/biden-administration-rewarded-private-entities-got-2020-election.
- Cercone, Jeff. “Election Integrity Partnership targeted election misinformation, not conservatives.” Poynter. October 13, 2022. Accessed April 15, 2023. https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2022/election-integrity-partnership-targeted-election-misinformation-not-conservatives/.
- Piper, Greg; Soloman, John. “Outsourced Censorship: Feds used private entity to target millions of social posts in 2020.” Just the News. September 30, 2022. Accessed April 15, 2023. https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/biden-administration-rewarded-private-entities-got-2020-election.
- Cercone, Jeff. “Election Integrity Partnership targeted election misinformation, not conservatives.” Poynter. October 13, 2022. Accessed April 15, 2023. https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2022/election-integrity-partnership-targeted-election-misinformation-not-conservatives/.