Live Monitoring U.S. Election 2020

Ahead of the 2020 U.S. Election, the HRC Lab team began making plans with partners at Amnesty International to monitor social media and collect information related to election interference including conduct like: any instances of excessive use of force, police failure to protect, voter suppression or intimidation, and dis/misinformation. Our team of more than 60 students collected over 900 pieces of content on election day and in the days that followed. This monitoring effort was a collaboration between the DVC, the Human Rights Center, and the Berkeley School of Journalism. The team monitored Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Tiktok, as well as “alternative” right wing social media platforms  for information that was shared with our partners at Amnesty International and in the news media.

“Capturing what’s happening on this critical day in U.S. history is a huge challenge,” said Alexa Koenig, Co-Faculty Director of the Human Rights Center and co-founder of the center’s Investigations Lab. “Our Berkeley students have been trained to mine the internet for information in real-time, to identify misinformation and verify facts, and to collaborate with leading newsrooms and human rights organizations to ensure accurate information reaches the public.”