Philadelphia spends $1.4M to fight election misinformation
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The Philadelphia City Commissioners' office is spending $1.4 million to hire an outside marketing firm to connect with voters and combat misinformation ahead of the November election.
Why it matters: Pennsylvania, one of six swing states expected to decide the election, was hammered during the 2020 race by Republicans' baseless claims of voter fraud — and former President Trump repeated those allegations during a recent campaign rally in Philadelphia.
Driving the news: Commissioners chair Omar Sabir tells Axios this is the most his office has spent on a media blitz in recent years — an effort to make Philly's more than 1 million registered voters feel secure that their voices are heard in the contentious rematch between President Biden and Trump.
- The nonpartisan messages will span radio, billboards and social media, Sabir says.
- They'll encourage higher voter turnout, remind voters of options for casting ballots and recent changes to mail-in voting, and dispel conspiracy theories that cause people to lose faith in the integrity of the process.
The latest: Commissioners issued a bid for the contract last month. The contract, running Aug. 1, 2024, to July 31, 2025, will be awarded to a firm later this month, per city records.
- The chosen firm will also produce training videos for election workers and handle press inquiries and other issues that arise during and after the election.
By the numbers: The $1.4 million price tag is 4% of the office's $33.4 million budget this year, Sabir says.
What they're saying: Those expenses are necessary because disinformation campaigns are more prevalent now than in past elections — with many focused on Black and Latino voters who are viewed as critical voting blocks in this year's race, Sabir says.
- Lauren Cristella, president of the government watchdog Committee of Seventy, says having a "nimble" firm that can quickly respond to false claims and conspiracies is crucial for the city in this polarized political climate.