LA County To Crack Down On Misinformation

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will develop a countywide strategy to combat misinformation.

Under the board's direction, the county's chief executive officer will develop a communications toolkit to combat misinformation surrounding voting, immigration, health and more.

The county registrar will also aid in similar efforts with Trusted Info 2022, a public education initiative to build trust in the electoral process.

Supervisor Hilda Solis, who authored the motion, says the county should reduce the damaging consequences caused by misinformation.

"These countermeasures will help to strengthen our institutions and give communities the information they need to make the most informed decisions," Solis said.

The co-author of the motion, Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, says misinformation has worsened the pandemic, undermined democratic institutions and normalized attacks based on race, ethnicity and gender.

"Today's action is a first step in our effort to fight back," Kuehl said. "It will put in motion several different strategies for ensuring that our democracy, our public health and our public trust are not further undermined by irresponsible individuals trying to make money or gain power by spreading demonstrably false information."

Not all supervisors were on the page, however. Supervisor Kathryn Barger voted against the motion. While she agrees with the intent, she said she does not think the plan will be effective.

The strategy also calls for the county to address major social media and messaging companies to educate users with identifying misinformation.