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Friend,
American democracy has a target on its back: online disinformation has increasingly become a feature of political campaigns in the digital age. And political ads containing demonstrably false information are already spreading. But Facebook has declared that it will not kick political ads off the platform, even if they are manifestly untrue. This doesn’t serve the cause of free speech or democracy.
Sign the petition to Facebook and demand that it take immediate action to reverse its policy on political ads. Facebook should fact-check political ads and reject those with demonstrably false content.
PEN America first raised the alarm about disinformation and its threat to our democracy in 2017, just as the country was coming to understand the ways in which external actors had tried to influence the 2016 campaign.
In 2019, we cautioned that disinformation was being used increasingly by domestic actors, and warned that it could become normalized as part of the toolbox of hotly contested modern campaigns.
As we move closer to Election Day 2020, the threat is unquestionably even greater. And Facebook is one of the places where that threat is most real.
It is critical that Facebook immediately prioritize the protection of our elections and our democracy. Right now, Facebook has a policy in place that permits political ads containing demonstrable falsehoods to run on its platform. Facebook must rescind this policy and refuse to run political ads that are manifestly untrue.
Facebook should not silence individual users for posting false content, but ads are different, and Facebook has the discretion to decline political ads if they so choose. But as of now, those ads, even if they are demonstrably deceitful, can be directed at voters with micro-targeting that means most people will never see them, or be able to point out their untruthfulness.
Take action now! Demand Facebook act to defend our democracy and our elections by rejecting political ads with demonstrably false information!
The roller coaster ride of American politics over the last few years has gotten us all used to a sense that anything can happen. But even amid that wild ride, it is becoming harder and harder to discern truth from fiction on social media platforms. Facebook must reject political ads that contain demonstrably false content.
Americans should have all the information available to make informed decisions. This includes knowing that political ads online are being held to a standard of truthfulness. We cannot afford another election marred by disinformation; and Facebook must accept its share of responsibility.
Thank you for taking action today.
Nora Benavidez
Director of U.S. Free Expression Programs
PEN America
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