Several Democratic state officials who serve as their state’s top election officials have written a letter to Facebook’s parent company, urging them to discontinue allowing ads that make false claims about the 2020 presidential election being stolen.
The secretaries of state from Colorado, Maine, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Vermont have written a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressing their concerns about allowing political ads. They argue that this decision will only serve to further erode trust in elections and contribute to the threats of political violence against election workers. In fact, some election workers have already left their profession due to these threats. The letter was also signed by Wisconsin Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski, who does not have oversight of elections.
In a letter addressed to the tech giant, the secretaries expressed their concern about Meta’s allowance of extremists and election deniers to continue undermining our elections. They strongly objected to Meta’s decision to permit ads promoting election denialism and called for the reversal of this policy before it causes further harm.
Nearly four years have passed, but conspiracy theories continue to circulate regarding the 2020 election. False claims about widespread fraud and manipulation of voting machines persist. Despite the lack of evidence supporting these allegations, former President Donald Trump remains adamant in his belief that he won the election and is determined to secure a return to the White House.
Multiple reviews, recounts, and audits conducted in the swing states where he contested his loss have consistently confirmed Joe Biden’s victory. Even Trump’s former attorney general acknowledged that there was no substantial fraud that could have influenced the outcome of the election. In a recent interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Trump made a false claim about winning Wisconsin, despite losing to Biden by approximately 21,000 votes. Trump stated that he would accept the election results if they were deemed fair and honest.
Since the 2020 election, election workers in various parts of the country have been subjected to death threats and harassment. According to a recent survey conducted by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU, 34% of local election officials reported that they were aware of colleagues who left their positions due to safety concerns, threats, or intimidation. This hostile environment has resulted in an unprecedented turnover of election workers nationwide.
YouTube, a video service owned by Google, recently implemented a policy akin to Meta’s. Under this policy, YouTube will no longer remove content that falsely asserts fraudulent activities during past U.S. presidential elections.
Meta has come forward to defend its efforts in safeguarding elections worldwide. A spokesperson from the company shed light on its approach towards elections, citing its 2022 strategy for the upcoming midterm elections. According to Meta, they will consistently assess content to identify any potential violations of their community standards. This includes their policies on election and voter interference, hate speech, coordinating harm and publicizing crime, as well as bullying and harassment.
Meta has announced that it will be taking action to remove election-related content that contains misinformation about voting details such as dates, locations, times, and methods. Additionally, the company will also be removing content that incites violence in relation to voting or the election outcome. As part of its plan, Meta has made it clear that it will reject any advertisements that question the legitimacy of an upcoming or ongoing election.
The group of Democratic secretaries of state is particularly concerned about the ads linked to the 2020 election. Among them are various campaign ads from earlier this year that repeatedly made false claims about the election being rigged. The Democratic Association of Secretaries of State, a political action committee affiliated with the Democratic National Committee, organized the letter, which was exclusively shared among Democrats.
According to Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, when individuals hold the belief that an election has been stolen, it tends to undermine their trust in the system, ultimately leading to lower voter turnout. In an interview on Friday, Bellows emphasized the importance of informing voters about the truth regarding elections and fostering a sense of empowerment, encouraging them to actively participate in the democratic process.
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