Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs’ election loss proves dangers of Facebook disinformation

There are lessons to be learned from one of the biggest shockers in the November election — where a virtually unknown Republican candidate who voted just three times in the last 23 elections, knocked off a nationally-recognized rising star, Democratic Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs.

Tubbs’ innovative work as mayor — and his incredible backstory — positioned him for success, with some predicting he would one day possibly be the state’s first Black governor. Born to a teen mother and a father in jail, Tubbs beat the odds, eventually graduating from Stanford with a master’s degree.

While interning in the White House, Tubbs received news that his cousin had been gunned down back at home. This tragedy pushed Tubbs to return to Stockton to make a difference. He won a seat on city council. Four years later, at 26, he became the nation’s youngest mayor of any major American city.

As mayor, Tubbs brought in over $100 million in both public and private funding. He launched three signature initiatives around reducing gun violence, a guaranteed income and a $20 million college scholarship fund. All three initiatives would cost taxpayers nothing because Tubbs raised private dollars to support these efforts. As he left office, Stockton had a record number of police officers, an 18% drop in overall crime and a $13 million budget surplus.

In a city that was once the largest in the nation to file for bankruptcy and had more murders per capita than Chicago. Under Mayor Tubbs, Stockton was on the mend. We are one of the most fiscally healthy municipalities in the nation. Stockton was crowned an “All-America City” twice in four years. So much positive change was happening that Stockton was featured in an HBO documentary that aired this summer titled “Stockton on My Mind.”

Despite this reality, Tubbs became the focus of an intense disinformation campaign on a Facebook page. Engineered by past political enemies, this page pumped out a daily drumbeat of false narratives, painting a picture of a mayor who pocketed city funds, hired his unqualified friends and transferred taxpayer dollars to campaign donors.

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For example, one story claimed that Tubbs had a secret plan to create a regional homeless hub, where Stockton would absorb homeless individuals from the Bay Area. Readers were also told that $60 million earmarked for homeless programs was given to Tubbs’ campaign donors. In reality, no homeless hub plan existed, and the city only received $6.5 million for homelessness which Tubbs did not control.

But reality didn’t matter.

The growing popularity of this Facebook page should have been a red flag for Tubbs. But he had the audacity to have confidence in facts, in truth — in reality. After all, how could anyone believe these outrageous claims when no legitimate news outlet repeated them? Clearly, many voters did.

In a city of approximately 310,000 residents, this Facebook site quickly grew to 120,000 followers, giving them an outsized influence. They outpaced our local newspaper which has around 30,000 Facebook followers. Their nonstop barrage of misinformation used racist undertones, exploited community fears and manipulated residents to believe that the mayor was corrupt.

What’s the lesson here? First, social media sites must implement tougher transparency rules. For example, even after being the focus of multiple national news articles, this site still says, “The person or group responsible for this Page hasn’t completed our verification process yet.”

Second, misinformation cannot be ignored. In communities where traditional news is dying, local officeholders and residents need to actively combat the spread of misinformation.

Finally, we cannot simply believe that only Trump supporters are susceptible to fake news. The novice, Trump-supporting Republican candidate who is now set to be mayor attracted the votes of thousands of Biden voters. That’s because voters outside of Trump’s base, those that once voted for Obama, are being targeted by these misinformation campaigns.

Sadly, in this new “information wars” world, we can no longer depend on reality. Truth alone is not sufficient to win. Voters must be vigilant in discovering the truth, and social media giants need to ensure transparency and accuracy in what is published online.

Daniel Lopez served as public information officer for Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs.