A coalition of civil rights organizations has accused social media platforms of spreading “digital voting disinformation.” The group is urging companies like Elon Musk‘s X and Mark Zuckerberg‘s Meta Platforms Inc. META to take action.
What Happened: Maya Wiley, the President and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, has called upon social media companies to address the issue of “digital voting disinformation.”
The coalition, representing over 200 civil rights groups and other organizations, is demanding that these companies clearly distinguish between fact and fiction.
“There is still time for social media companies to step up and do what is right,” Wiley said in a statement on Monday.
She emphasized that social media companies should be more vigilant in separating fact from fiction and that they have the power to balance free speech rights with verification, links, labeling, and ensuring algorithms demote dangerous disinformation.
Wiley’s call to action comes in the wake of a surge in false information during the recent hurricanes.
The coalition is urging social media companies to establish and enforce civic and election policies, address AI-generated and manipulated media, resource election teams to protect against voting disinformation, limit rampant resharing of voting disinformation, and amplify authoritative and truthful information on voting and the election.
Why It Matters: The issue of misinformation on social media platforms has been a recurring concern. In August, Meta Platforms successfully defended against a lawsuit from an anti-vaccine group led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which accused the company of censorship over vaccine misinformation.
Meanwhile, Musk faces scrutiny from the UK Parliament regarding how his platform, X, manages content moderation and the use of algorithms in spreading harmful material.
Additionally, Zuckerberg recently expressed his frustration over taking responsibility for issues beyond his control, signaling a shift in how Meta may handle future controversies.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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