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Campaign 2020: Colorado Secretary Of State Forms Team To Identify Disinformation

DENVER (CBS4) - While voting in Colorado is considered to be among the safest in the nation, advances in technology have ensured there's still work to be done.

"How can we counter disinformation campaigns and how do we continue to innovate to be ahead of any cyber threat?" a question Secretary of State Jena Griswold says her office started asking four years ago.

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Griswold says it is the newest form of voter suppression, and Colorado will be among the first in the nation to try and address it.

Her office has formed a new unit dedicated to identifying disinformation, the Rapid Response Election Security Cyber Unit.  They are also launching an initiative to counter, and ideally stop, the spread of bad information.

"Why this disinformation is so worrisome is it's not just someone standing on a street corner saying wrong information. It's foreign adversaries using a sophisticated form of communication, social media, as a tool to trick American voters," she said.

The push will include a social media campaign of their own, focused on the importance of facts versus opinion and a new effort to make sure trusted sources are the first to pop up when voters search for information.

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"It's not really about buying ads, but prioritizing good sources of information so for example if someone is googling Colorado drop box how do I vote we want them to go to our website so they are getting accurate information," Griswold said.

Their biggest asset even in the age of technology she says is voters themselves.

"The top thing we can do is to encourage Coloradoans to recognize that not everything you see on social media is true," she said.

For more information on the initiative visit www.GoVoteColorado.gov

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