Misinformation is flowing ahead of Ohio abortion vote. Some is coming from a legislative website.
CTV
The inflammatory language targeting a reproductive rights measure on Ohio's fall ballot is the type of messaging that is common in the closing weeks of a highly contested initiative campaign -- warning of "abortion on demand" or "dismemberment of fully conscious children" if voters approve it.
The inflammatory language targeting a reproductive rights measure on Ohio's fall ballot is the type of messaging that is common in the closing weeks of a highly contested initiative campaign -- warning of "abortion on demand" or "dismemberment of fully conscious children" if voters approve it.
Only the messaging isn't just coming from the anti-abortion groups that oppose the constitutional amendment. It's being promoted on the official government website of the Republican-controlled Ohio Senate.
And because the source is a government website, the messaging is being prioritized in online searches for information about Issue 1, the question going before Ohio voters Nov. 7 to enshrine abortion access in the state Constitution.
The "On The Record" blog on the state Senate website is billed as an "online newsroom" presenting "the views the news excludes." It features attacks against Ohio news outlets, op-ed style columns by Republican state senators and content generated by members of the Senate majority's communications staff and other noted conservatives.
"Be confident that here you will find a place for facts, values, and reason," read the announcement when Republican lawmakers launched the feature in September, shortly after Ohio voters rejected a Republican attempt to make it far more difficult to pass constitutional amendments.
Groups backing the proposed amendment say it's an improper use of a taxpayer-supported website, while experts who study online misinformation said the effort by Republican lawmakers appeared unprecedented.
"It's a really strategic way to make something appear to be neutral information and fact when that's not the reality," said Laura Manley, executive director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. "I've never seen anything like that. It's really smart in a really devious way."
