The 2016 elections brought forth images of Macedonian teens pulling quick profits and Russian agents seeding polarization across the United States. But 2020 is teaching us that whatever the origins of a rumor, misleading meme or photo, it is the particular local twist and organic amplification that give it power — often leading to impact offline. In five states that will be key in the upcoming election — Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin — First Draft has collected dozens of examples of information disorder playing out via private Facebook groups, text messaging and other platforms. In an echo of national trends, local influencers and elected officials — state representatives, sheriffs and political candidates — play a key role in amplifying and spreading misleading or harmful information about the pandemic and other issues. Confusion among the public, whether about All misinformation is local the process of mail-in voting or the efficacy of mask-wearing, proves fertile ground for creating confusion and encouraging distrust. While local news organizations enjoy more public trust than national sources, and are well-positioned to provide information to counter information disorder, they are under increasing financial stress. Even before the economic burden of the pandemic, local newsrooms had already been contracting and shutting down as advertising dollars migrated to social media platforms, resulting in local news deserts. And even in their previously financially stable state, newsroom staff lacked diversity. According to recent researchby Gallup and the Knight Foundation, more than two-thirds of Americans think it is important for the media to represent the diversity of the US population, but nearly 40 per cent think the media is doing a poor job with diversity efforts