State Agencies, Nonprofits Use Mitre-Built Tool to Help Stop Election Disinformation Campaigns

Government officials and nonprofit sector representatives in 11 U.S. states have partnered with Mitre to implement a browser plugin and mobile application that works to help them identify misleading or false information on social media concerning the upcoming elections.

The Social See Something, Say Something tool is designed to spot and report misinformation or feed patterns that observers can use when issuing content takedown requests to authorities, Mitre said Thursday.

SQUINT, which the nonprofit company rolled out in February, was originally designed to thwart attempts to distort election systems and processes.

“We’re pleased to see SQUINT making an impact on helping maintain public trust and confidence in their election systems,” said Emily Frye, codirector of the election integrity initiative at Mitre.

Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Dakota, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia are the states where the tool is being used.