Plus: NYT Needle may not work on election night{beacon} Technology Technology   The Big Story Bracing for election disinformation It's Election Day. Polls across the country will close in the next few hours, but experts and political figures are warning the swath of online disinformation may just be beginning. © Illustration / Samantha Wong; and Adobe Stock The long-lasting falsehoods over the 2020 election have made voters and election watchers more attuned to the potential for disinformation, though experts said recent technology advances are making it more difficult for users to discern fake content.  False content has emerged online throughout this election cycle, often in the form of artificial intelligence (AI) deepfakes. The images have sparked a flurry of warnings from lawmakers and strategists about attempts to influence the race’s outcome or sow chaos and distrust in the electoral process.  Just last week, a video falsely depicting individuals claiming to be from Haiti and voting illegally in multiple Georgia counties circulated across social media, prompting Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) to ask X and other social platforms to remove the content.  Intelligence agencies later determined Russian influence actors were behind the video. Thom Shanker, director of the Project for Media and National Security at George Washington University, noted the fake content used in earlier cycles was “sort of clumsy and obvious,” unlike newer, AI-generated content.  “Unless you really are applying attention and concentration and media literacy, a casual viewer would say, ‘Well, that certainty looks real to me,’” he said, adding, “And of course, they are spreading at internet speeds.”  News outlets are also trying to debunk fake content before it reaches large audiences.  A video recently circulated showing a fake CBS News banner claiming the FBI warned citizens “to vote with caution due to high terrorist threat level.” CBS said the screenshot “was manipulated with a fabricated banner that never aired on any CBS News platform.”  Another screenshot showing a CNN “race alert” with Vice President Harris ahead of Trump in Texas reportedly garnered millions of views over the weekend before the network confirmed the image was “completely fabricated and manipulated.”  False content like this can go unchecked for longer periods of time, as they often posted into an “echo chamber,” and shown only to users with similar interests and algorithms, said Sandra Matz, a professor at Columbia Business School. “It’s not necessarily that there’s more misinformation, it’s also that it’s hidden,” Matz said, warning it is not possible for experts to “easily access the full range of content that is shown to different people.” Social media companies have faced even more scrutiny after four news outlets released last week separate investigations into X, YouTube and Meta — the parent company for Facebook and Instagram. All of the probes say those major companies failed to stop some content containing election misinformation before it went live. Since purchasing X, Elon Musk and the company have faced repeated criticism for scaling back content moderation features and reinstating several conspiracy theorists’ accounts. Concerns over disinformation on the platform increased earlier this year when the billionaire became a vocal surrogate for Trump and ramped up his sharing of false or misleading claims. Read the full story at TheHill.com.   Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter, we're Julia Shapero and Miranda Nazzaro — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.   Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.   Essential Reads  How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future:  NYT says public may not see political needle on election night The New York Times’s signature election needle may not be available to the public as results come in Tuesday night amid an ongoing strike by the outlet’s technology staff, the paper’s election analytics team confirmed Tuesday. The Times’s election night statistical model, dubbed the “Needle,” helps readers understand what to make of the votes that have been counted so far and estimates the outcome based on partial election …  Full Story  Google fixes ‘where to vote’ issue in Harris, Vance searchesGoogle said Tuesday it fixed an error that was causing a “where to vote” panel to appear when searching for Vice President Harris and Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio).  The search giant said the panel was triggered for certain searches, such as “where to vote for Harris” or “where to vote for Vance,” because Harris and Vance are also both names of U.S. counties.  “Note very few people actually search for voting places this way,” …  Full Story  Pope Francis accidentally tags NFL’s Saints in X post after coach’s firingPope Francis appeared to accidentally tout an NFL team in a Tuesday social media post shortly after the squad dismissed its head coach. In a Tuesday morning post on X, the pope encouraged his followers to take lessons from the lives of Catholic “#Saints” — “precious pearls,” he wrote, who “are always living and relevant, because they provide a fascinating commentary on the Gospel.” X, however, …  Full Story  Meta extends political ad ban until after Election Day Meta extended its ban on new political ads on its platforms through Election Day, the social media giant announced Monday. The parent company of Facebook and Instagram said the restriction on new ads about social issues, elections or politics is extended until “later this week” but did not specify which day it will be lifted. The original ban was expected to expire at 11:59 p.m. PST on Election Day.  Political ads that ran …  Full Story   The Refresh  News we've flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics: Musk heads to Mar-a-Lago for election night Elon Musk, who has been a key supporter of former President Trump, will join Trump at Mar-a-Lago on election night to watch the results come in, The New York Times reported.   Apple News to offer election results on lockscreen Apple users will have the option to opt in to receiving live election result updates to their iPhone or iPad lockscreens, The Verge reports.    What Others are Reading  Two key stories on The Hill right now: Mike Johnson on certifying election results: ‘Everybody needs to calm down’ House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said “everybody needs to calm down” when asked about election certification, adding there’s been … Read more Trump rips Fox News’s election morning coverage Former President Trump railed against Fox News on Tuesday morning for playing clips of a speech Oprah Winfrey gave in support of Vice President Harris. … Read more  What Others are Reading  Opinion related to tech submitted to The Hill: Will remote workers determine the outcome of today’s election?  You're all caught up. 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