Social media platforms backed away from policies designed to
fight election disinformation after the 2020 presidential race won by US
Democratic President Joe Biden, more than 100 advocacy groups, led by Common
Cause, said in a letter to social media executives.
A surge of disinformation then led to the deadly January 6,
2021, attack on the US Capitol by supporters of then-President Trump and that
disinformation continues to multiply, they said, citing research and public
reporting.
"High-profile disinformation spreaders and other bad
actors are continuing to use social media platforms to disseminate messages
that undermine trust in elections," read a letter sent to chief executives
and signed by more than 100 groups lead by Common Cause.
"Candidates are using the Big Lie as a platform plank
to pre-emptively declare voter fraud in order to dispute the results of the
2022 election," they wrote. "This is damaging American democracy by
undermining faith in the integrity of our elections."
The letter, also sent to the CEOs of Google, Instagram and
Snap, urged the companies to take steps, including prioritizing fact-checking
and providing real-time access of data to external researchers and watchdogs.
Priority must be given to fighting the "Big Lie"
that voter fraud cost Trump the White House in 2020, the letter said.
The groups also sought greater transparency on political
advertisements, enforcement practices and algorithmic models.
Others that signed include voting rights and election
integrity groups as well as the Center for American Progress, the League of
Women Voters, Greenpeace, the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People and the Arab American Institute. © Reuters
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