The Misinformation Problem With Politics
As much as we all might like to make informed decisions in modern politics, doing so can be harder than it sounds. There is so much misinformation floating around these days that it can be difficult to find trustworthy sources to turn to, let alone put what we learn into context. And the misinformation problem goes further than the individual. As thousands turn up to vote on election day, the gaps between what we wish to know and what we have been able to figure out can lead us to vote against our own interests. It becomes harder and harder to hold our leaders accountable. We are left with more government corruption, weaker institutions, and an increasingly unmotivated and ill-informed electorate, despite our best efforts to find the facts about our government.
Turin Horse Seeks a Solution
Enter Turin Horse. Founder Nima Sarrafan hopes that by studying legislative efficacy, or the power to facilitate a bill, whether it passes or fails, through the legislative process, can help us identify what exactly each of our representatives is up to. Turin Horse will use volunteer data analysts and machine learning to measure the impact of each of our legislators. The goal is to provide the voting public with real data on the inner workings of their legislature. Ideally, this will give voters trustworthy and meaningful information that they can use to hold their representatives accountable.
Volunteer Data Analysts to the Rescue
At our hackathon, the Turin Horse team was able connect with a core group of volunteers that will help them establish their database and begin development on their platform’s front and back end. This new project is promising, but they are still working to build their team and grow their repository of electoral and legislative data. Turin Horse continues to look for volunteer data analysts that can help them model, structure, and analyze the information they are gathering. UX designers and developers will be shaping and building the platform to help make this incredible wealth of data more accessible and meaningful to the average voter. More and more volunteers are bringing a diverse set of skills and experience to help realize the goals of this project every day. Visit the Turin Horse project profile on DemocracyLab to learn more and figure out how you can get involved today!