'Misinformation' in transit fight mirrors a familiar strategy for referendum opponents, expert says

Opponents to Nashville's transit plan have made high-profile missteps leading up to a vote on the measure, pulling a faulty ad and submitting an opinion piece with a phony name and an unauthorized photo.

Groups behind the errors say they were honest mistakes that shouldn't distract from their central message. But a local political scientist said "misinformation" and confusion can be powerful and reliable weapons in this kind of political fight.

"The strategy of creating confusion in a political campaign has been a campaign tool for a long, long time," said Kent Syler, a professor at Middle Tennessee State University.

Confusing voters with conflicting information can create "an environment of risk" surrounding a particular candidate or issue.

► More: Group opposing Nashville transit plan used fake name, unauthorized photo in opinion piece

The transit plan calls for an increase in four taxes — including a 1-cent increase to the sales tax — to pay for 26 miles of light rail on five major corridors, a downtown connector tunnel, rapid bus transit on other roads and enhancements to existing city bus routes.

"Referendums are more susceptible, I think, to misinformation campaigns than a typical political race because they are advocating change," he said. "Risk is the enemy of change."

► More: Bulk of money raised by opposition Nashville transit group kept secret

Risks that a project could fail or come in over budget are significant turn-offs for voters, he said.

"If you create enough fear through misinformation and you create the perception of risk that is one of the best ways to defeat a referendum."

Two noteworthy mistakes

Groups for and against the transit plan have disagreed loudly over the talking points and data used by each side. But two groups opposing the plan admitted to noteworthy mistakes in the lead-up to early voting, which began Wednesday.

Better Transit for Nashville — which describes itself as a "local, grassroots group" — submitted an opinion piece and a photo to The Tennessean under the name Matt Johnson.

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After The Tennessean published the piece last weekend, editors confirmed that Matt Johnson was a phony name and that the photo was of a Nashville man who did not authorize its use and who is not affiliated with the activist group.

On Monday, group organizer Jim Harwell said that multiple volunteers had written the piece together using a pen name.

Group spokeswoman Jennifer Miller later said they used a pen name to protect volunteers who were uncomfortable using their names.The same email listed names for 13 group members and referred reporters to the Rev. Enoch Fuzz for interviews.

"One of our volunteers inadvertently downloaded the wrong photo to send with the opinion piece," Miller wrote in an email. "We corrected that."

NoTrax4Tracks, a formal opposition group, pulled an erroneous ad earlier this month after Nashville Public Radio asked about the false assertion that 90 percent of funding for the transit plan would go toward light rail.

A group organizer said the error was a typo and the group later released a revised ad saying 70 percent of the funding would go toward light rail.

All of this stands in contrast to the 55-page city document outlining the plan, which says rail expenses would make up 61 percent of costs through 2032.

Kelly Brockman, a spokeswoman for the Transit for Nashville Coalition, said the misleading action its into a broader strategy used by groups arguing against the transit plan.

"The anti-transit groups have spent advertising dollars – online, on television and in print – scaring seniors and misleading Nashvillians," she said in a statement. "It’s dishonest, and in some cases, out and out fraud."

Social media presents added challenges

The original, debunked 90 percent figure is still posted on the website for the Better Transit for Nashville group, which has developed a robust following through social media.

Syler, the MTSU professor, said social media can be a breeding ground for misleading or confusing information.

"Disseminating information has been democratized. Everyone can report and get information out there," he said. "The problem is there are so many ways to abuse it."

The shift requires voters to adopt a more skeptical approach.

"If you can't tell where the information's coming from and who's responsible for it then you've got to take that into consideration," Syler said.

Reach Adam Tamburin at atamburin@tennessean.com and 615-726-5986. Follow him on Twitter @tamburintweets.