Connecticut Looking to Hire a $150,000 ‘Misinformation Sheriff’ Ahead of the Midterms

Connecticut officials are looking to hire what has been described as a “misinformation sheriff” ahead of the 2022 midterm elections amid fears of the spread of what the elites consider to be election “misinformation.”

The $150,000 hire is part of the state’s larger effort to “educate” the public on all matters related to the elections prior to the midterms. A copy of Gov. Ned Lamont’s (D) midterm budget contends that “malicious foreign actors have demonstrated the motivation and capability to significantly disrupt election activities, thus undermining public confidence in the fairness and accuracy of election results.”

“To that end, the following funding is recommended for the Secretary of the State for a thorough election security program,” it reads, devoting $150,000 for an “analyst to monitor and combat election misinformation on a full-time basis,” as well as $2 million for a “public information campaign to educate and inform the state’s registered voters on voting how-to’s, including absentee voting.”

The misinformation chief, specifically, would be tasked with monitoring what the New York Times described as “far-right social networks” to “root out early misinformation narratives about voting before they go viral, and then urge the companies to remove or flag the posts that contain false information.” The Times listed 4Chan, Rumble, and Gettr, specifically, as a handful of examples.

Scott Bates, the deputy secretary of the state, seemingly defended the new role, contending that “misinformation can erode people’s confidence in elections.” Officials, he said, “view that as a critical threat to the democratic process.”

“We have to have situational awareness by looking into all the incoming threats to the integrity of elections,” he said, emphasizing the importance of figuring out “where the threat is coming from, and before it metastasizes.”

Per the Times:

Connecticut officials said the state’s goal was to patrol the internet for election falsehoods. On May 7, the Connecticut legislature approved $2 million for internet, TV, mail and radio education campaigns on the election process, and to hire an election information security officer.

Officials said they would prefer candidates fluent in both English and Spanish, to address the spread of misinformation in both languages. The officer would track down viral misinformation posts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, and look for emerging narratives and memes, especially on fringe social media platforms and the dark web.

According to the budget, the state also allotted $4 million in capital funds for the Democracy Initiatives Project, “which will work to upgrade the central voter registration system and election management application.”

News of Connecticut’s desire to hire a misinformation chief follows the Biden administration’s attempts to implement such on a national scale via the Department of Homeland Security’s Disinformation Governance Board, which has been “paused” following weeks of outcry from Americans. The misinformation department’s controversial radical left-wing leader Nina Jankowicz has since resigned.