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Introduction

In November 2024, we are

facing the most

consequential election in

U.S. history.

(Savage et al, 2024)

The most powerful voter

suppression technique is

now the use of

misinformation and

disinformation to confuse

voters or to encourage them

not to vote at all as a sign of

protest. (Hsu, 2024)

It is critical for libraries and

especially public libraries

not only to encourage

patrons to vote and do

everything possible to

facilitate voting but also to

educate patrons about the

various types of

misinformation and

disinformation

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Outline of Presentation

The state of the U.S. economy

The immigration crisis

The state of crime in the U.S.

The War in Ukraine

The War between Israel and Palestine

References

As librarians, we need to be in command of the facts about issues that are being weaponized for the purpose of confusing people in this election season:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/89056228@N00/2245209899

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The State of the US Economy

https://www.flickr.com/photos/50965924@N00/2932154983

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Disinformation

The U.S. Economy is in shambles. Unemployment is the worst it has been in 50 years.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

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Facts

By common capitalist standards (GDP, Employment and wage rates) the U.S. economy is doing well. ( BLS, 2024)
The recent rise in inflation was mainly caused by the COVID pandemic deaths which affected the global supply chain, and by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine(Krugman, 2024 a, 2024b) which affected the price of energy, grain
Housing costs continue to remain unaffordable for millions.(Henderson, 2024)
There is also a general sense of malaise about jobs being replaced by technology and about the mechanical and transactional nature of work and human relations in our advanced capitalist society which make people feel alienated. (Smith, 2024)

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The Immigration Crisis

https://www.flickr.com/photos/53984565@N00/138556236

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Disinformation

The U.S. has been invaded by gangs of immigrants who are all criminals. They are taking away our jobs and “poisoning the blood of our country.”

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Facts

There is a global migration crisis in response to growing wars, global warming and authoritarianism.(UNHCR, 2023)
Immigrants are significantly less likely to commit crimes (Crawford, 2023)
The U.S. has a serious labor shortage and needs immigrants (Planet Money, 2024)
America’s young population is also shrinking overall

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The State of Crime in the U.S.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/87690240@N03/18917472632

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Disinformation

“Crime is rampant and out of control, like never before”

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Facts

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the murder and domestic abuse rate increased. (Berman et al, 2022)
The murder rate is now decreasing. Assault and robbery are decreasing in most cities but not all. (Campbell & Cole, 2024)
The police are heavily militarized and police brutality is prevalent. (Rashawn, 2021 & Solomon, 2023)
Gun violence is the number 1 killer of youth under 18 (Gramlich, 2023a)
Half of deaths by guns are suicides (Gramlich 2023b)
Guns are frequently used in domestic violence (Berman et al, 2022)
Many U.S. legislators backed by NRA refuse to promote gun control legislation (McIntire, 2023)

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The War in Ukraine

https://www.flickr.com/photos/59509714@N06/51904455977

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Disinformation

This is a proxy war between NATO and Russia
Russia has a right to take over Ukraine because

Ukraine used to be part of the Russian empire

What Russia does in Europe is not our business

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Facts

Ukraine has been an independent country since 1991 and has a centuries-long history of resistance against Russian colonialism.(Snyder, 2022a)
Russia’s 2014 and 2022 invasions of Ukraine were aimed at recolonizing Ukraine and enslaving its population which wants a democratic system. (Snyder 2022b) Vladimir Putin’s goal is to restore Russia’s former status as an empire, and is thus not limited to taking over Ukraine. (Hodge, 2022)
The Russian invasion has led to a worsening global refugee crisis, ecological poisoning, and large increases in the price of gasoline and food.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has also emboldened authoritarians around the world. (Feffer, 2024)

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The Israel-Palestine War

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Disinformation

All Palestinians support Hamas

All Israelis are settler colonialists

The land between the Jordan River & the Mediterranean Sea cannot be shared by both peoples living in peaceful co-existence.

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Facts

The majority of the population of Gaza oppose Hamas (Ezra Klein, 2023, Abdulrahim, 2024 & Abu Maneh 2024)

Many Israelis oppose extremist nationalism and Israel’s occupation of the U.N. recognized Palestinian territories (Weltman, 2024)

Peaceful solutions do exist and there are partners for peace on both sides (Social Responsibilities Round Table, 2024)

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Conclusion

The Social Responsibilities Round Table has prepared a series of pathfinders for library staff and patrons about these and other current events and hot topics.

We encourage library staff to share these pathfinders with the public and use them as the basis for organizing current events discussions at your libraries as we prepare for the most consequential election in U.S. history.

This election will determine whether our limited democracy lives or dies.

Voting to protect our limited democracy is our only option at this point. Without a democracy that allows us to have freedom of speech, press and assembly, we will not be able to do anything to address the crises that are plaguing our world.

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Pathfinder Brochures on Current Events�

Go to ala.org/srrt and click on publication and resource. Choose pathfinders

https://sites.google.com/view/srrt-pathfinders/home

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Social Responsibilities Round Table

https://www.ala.org/srrt

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Frieda Afary’s Contact Information

Frieda Afary, Philosophy M.A., M.L.I.S.

Iranian American public librarian, translator and author,

Los Angeles

Director-at-Large of the American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Round Table

Co-chair of PEN America’s Translation Committee

Email address: fafarysecond@yahoo.com

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References

Abdulrahim, Raja and Iyad Abuheweila (2024). “As War Drags On, Gazans More Willing to

Speak Out Against Hamas.” New York Times. June 16, 2024.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/15/world/middleeast/hamas-gaza-israel-

war.html?searchResultPosition=1

Abu-Manneh, Bashir (2024). “The Palestinian Resistance Isn’t a Monolith.” Jacobin. April

28.

https://jacobin.com/2024/04/gaza-left-hamas-occupation-war-solidarity

Aleaziz, Hamed and Miriam Jordan (2024). “Biden’s Border Crackdown Could Be Dangerous

for Families, Advocates Warn.” New York Times. June 9.

Berman, Mark, et al (2022). “The Staggering Scope of Gun Deaths Goes Beyond Mass Shootings.” Washington Post. July 8.

Bureau of Labor Statistics.(2024) “The Employment Situation.” April.

https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf

Campbell, Josh and devan Cole (2024). “Violent Crime is Down and the U.S. Murder Rate is

Plunging, FBI Statistics Show.” CNN. June 10. https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/10/us/us-

violent-crime-rates-statistics/index.html

Coin News (2024) . “U.S. Inflation Calculator.”

https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/current-inflation-rates/

Crawford, Krysten (2023). “The Mythical Tie Between Immigration and Crime.” Stanford

Institute for Economic Policy Research. July 21.

https://siepr.stanford.edu/news/mythical-tie-between-immigration-and-crime

Demirjian, Karoun (2023). “Over Decades, Congress Failed Repeatedly to Address Immigration Dysfunction.” New York Times. May 14.

Douglis, Sylvie. (2024) “How Much of Your Tax Dollars Are Going to Israel and Ukraine.”

NPR’s Planet Money. March 29.

https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1197958571#:~:text=It%20makes%20up%20less%20than,

federal%20budget%20for%20each%20year.

Economist (2024). “Our World in Data”. Economist. June

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/excess-deaths-cumulative-economist-single-entity

Erlanger, Steve. (2024). “Peace is Much Harder Colliding Like Never Before in

2024.” New York Tito Achieve Than a Truce.” New York Times.

June 6. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/05/world/europe/israel-gaza-cease-fire-

negotiations.html?searchResultPosition=1

Ezra Klein Show. “She Polled Gazans on October 6.” New York Times. November 3.

Feffer, John (2024). “Talk of a Ceasefire in Ukraine is Dangerously Premature.” Foreign

Policy in Focus. June 5. https://fpif.org/a-slippery-slope-to-world-war-iii/

Gambino, Lauren (2024). “What Would Trump’s Israel-Gaza Policy Be if he Were Re-

elected?” The Guardian. April 25.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/25/trump-presidency-israel-gaza-

middle-east-crisis

Gonzalez, Sarah, et al (2024). “How Much of Your Tax Dollars Are Going to Israel and

Ukraine?” NPR. March 29. https://www.npr.org/2024/03/29/1197958571/us-military-

aid-tax-ukraine-israel-gaza-Russia

Gramlich, John (2023a).”Gun Deaths Among U.S. Children and Teens Rose 50% in Two Years.” Pew Research Center. April 6.

Gramlich, John (2023b). “What the Data Says About Gun Deaths in the U.S.” Pew Research Center. July 26.

Hass, Amira (2024). “ ‘People Are Constantly Cursing Sinwar’: Gazans Oppposing Hamas

Are Sure They’re the Majority.” Haaretz. April 1.

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-04-01/ty-article-magazine/.premium/people-

are-cursing-sinwar-gazans-opposing-hamas-are-sure-theyre-the-majority/0000018e-9ada-

dfd2-afce-deff025f0000

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References

Henderson, Rebecca (2024) “Affordable Housing Statistics.” U.S.A. Today, August 13.

Hodge, Nathan (2022).”Restoration of Empire is the Endgame for Russia’s Putin.” CNN. June 11.

Hsu, Tiffany et al (2024). “Elections and Disinformation Are Colliding Like Never Before in

2024.” New York Times. January 24.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/09/business/media/election-disinformation-

2024.html?searchResultPosition=2

Krugman, Paul (2024). “Good Economic News, Negative Vibes.” New York Times. April 9.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/08/opinion/economy-

vibes.html?searchResultPosition=2

Krugman, Paul (2024). “If It Bleeds, I Leads, Inflation Edition.” New York Times. May 7.

Kulke, Stephanie (2024). “Immigrants Are Significantly Less Likely to Commit Crimes than

the U.S.-Born.” Northwestern. March 12.

https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2024/03/immigrants-are-significantly-less-likely-to-

commit-crimes-than-the-us-born/

Lopez, German. America’s Gun Problem. New York Times. May 26.

McIntire, Mike (2023) “The Secret History of Guns: How Lawmakers Armed the NRA” New York Times, July 6.

Planet Money (2024). “Is the Border Crisis Actually

A Labor Market Crisis?” NPR. June 11.

Qiu, Linda. (2024). “Fact Checking Biden’s & Trump’s

Claims About the Economy.” New York Times, June

25.

Rashawn, Ray (2021). “How 9/11 Helped to Militarzie American Law Enforcement.” Brookings Institute. Sept. 9

Sawyer, Wendy and Peter Wagner (2024). “Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie.” Prison

Policy Initiative. March 14.

https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2024.html#:~:text=Together%2C%20these%20sys

tems%20hold%20over,centers%2C%20state%20psychiatric%20hospitals%2C%20and

Savage, Charlie et al (2024) “If Trump Wins.” New York Times. June 16.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/06/16/us/politics/trump-policy-list-2025.html

Smith, Stacey Vanek (2024). “Economic Data is Looking Good. So Why the Glum Vibes?” NPR Market Place. June 25, 2024.

Smart, Charlie (2022). “How the Russian Media Spread False Claims About Ukrainian Nazis.” New York Times. July 2.

Snyder, Timothy. (2022a) “The War in Ukraine is a Colonial War” New Yorker. April 28.

https://www.newyorker.com/news/essay/the-war-in-ukraine-is-a-colonial-war

Snyder, Timothy (2022b). On Tyranny (Expanded Audio Edition) Random House.

Solomon, Matthew (2023) “Reimagining Safety.” https://www.reimaginingsafetymovie.com/

Sullivan, Kate (2024). “Trump Says He Would Encourage Russia to ‘Do Whatever the Hell

They Want’ to Any NATO Country That Doesn’t Pay Enough.” CNN. February 11.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/10/politics/trump-russia-nato/index.html

Social Responsibilities Round Table. (2024) “Dialogue with Palestinian & Israeli Peace

Activists.” American Library Association. April 7.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0FsUI6Ka88

Tankersley, Jim. (2024) “For Voters, High Prices Block Out the Good News.” New York

Times. June 8. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/07/business/biden-job-market-

economy-inflation.html?searchResultPosition=1

UNHCR (2023). “Global Trends Report.” U.N. Refugee Agency.

Weltmann, Uri and Federico Fuentes (2024). “The Anti-War Left Makes Inroads in Israel:

An Interview with Standing Together’s Uri Weltman. Links. June 3.

https://links.org.au/anti-war-left-makes-inroads-israel-interview-standing-togethers-uri-

weltmann