KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Every vote could matter in one of the country’s most closely watched Senate races.
But a false election alert sent by Google earlier this week has one metro man concerned misinformation could have real consequences at the ballot box.
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Collin Dixson says he was surprised when an alert appeared on his phone declaring incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall the winner of the Kansas Senate race.
“It said that Roger Marshall had won the senate race,” he said.
The alert arrived as President Donald Trump was campaigning in Kansas for Marshall, even though the election had not yet taken place.
The premature declaration raised questions about how inaccurate election information can reach voters through platforms they may trust to deliver reliable information.
The Kansas Senate race has drawn national attention, with major election forecasters rating the contest a toss-up.
Marshall faces Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton, a megachurch pastor, in a race that could have significant implications for control of the U.S. Senate.
Democrats are also attempting to accomplish something that has not happened in Kansas in nearly a century, win a U.S. Senate election in the state.
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For Dixson, the concern goes beyond one incorrect notification. He worries voters who receive the alert might assume the election is already decided and choose not to vote.
“People getting the alert same as I did and not researching — just thinking that, oh…he won, that’s the end of it and not going and casting their vote,” he said.
In a race this close, Dixson worries even a small number of voters could be influenced by misinformation, particularly when it comes from a familiar name like Google.
The company acknowledged the error in a statement to FOX4:
We have policies and protections against inaccurate information appearing in our features. In the rare cases where inaccurate information appears, we take swift action — in this case stopping the alert and addressing the underlying issue.
Google did not explain to FOX4 how the false alert was generated.
Dixson says he wants the company to take greater care with information presented to the public, especially during a closely contested election.
“Google should definitely be more careful about what they put out,” Dixson said.
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He says the incident is a reminder that people should verify election information before accepting it as fact.
“I don’t know how stuff like that happens especially in today’s era where people see stuff and run with it,” he said
