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Friend,
On Tuesday, a coalition of more than 200 civil-society organizations, researchers and journalists sent a letter1 calling on the leading social-media platforms to strengthen platform-integrity efforts and protect democratic elections worldwide in 2024.
The letter urges top executives at companies like Google, Meta, TikTok and Twitter to take the following steps to keep online platforms safe and healthy in 2024:
- Reinstate election-integrity policies.
- Staff up critical trust and safety teams to better enforce policies across languages.
- Hold influencer, public figure and political candidate accounts to the same moderation and enforcement standards as everyone else.
- Improve transparency by requiring public disclosure of companies’ moderation and enforcement practices.
- Require clear disclosure of AI-generated political content while prohibiting the use of deepfakes in political ads.
- Reduce the visibility and easy distribution of election-related content that has been flagged as potentially violative and is awaiting review.
In December, Free Press released a report2 documenting how platforms have retreated from democratic accountability by rolling back essential policies, instituting layoffs and reinstating thousands of dangerous and extremist accounts.
Tech companies’ refusal to safeguard their platforms is already having a harmful impact on democracies around the world. The platforms must ramp up their integrity and moderation efforts to address the deluge of hate and lies. Add your name to our petition urging Big Tech companies to take the threat of disinformation seriously in 2024.
From fanning the flames of extremism ahead of the Jan. 6 insurrection to fomenting division around the ongoing violence in Gaza, social-media companies play a crucial role in shaping public attitudes.
In 2024, at least 60 countries are conducting national elections amid evidence of rising authoritarianism around the globe. At the same time, leading platforms have abandoned their commitments to protect users from the scourge of election-related disinformation.
Join us in calling on social-media platforms to install guardrails to protect user safety and democracy in this pivotal election year.
Thanks so much for your support,
Nora and the rest of the Free Press team
freepress.net
P.S. You can read the full Big Tech Backslide report on our website.
1. “Coalition Demands That Tech Platforms Protect Election Integrity,” Free Press, April 9, 2024
2. Big Tech Backslide: How Social-Media Rollbacks Endanger Democracy Ahead of the 2024 Elections, Free Press, December 2023
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