In the lead up to the violent insurrection on January 6th, 2021, Big Tech played an indisputable role in amplifying the baseless election denialism better known as the “Big Lie.” From the Apple podcast app to Alphabet’s YouTube videos, the fringe theories that attempted to topple our democracy gained an audience on their platforms.
When the dust settled from January 6th, 2021, Big Tech scrambled to assure their customers and shareholders of their commitment to protecting voting rights and our shared democratic ideals. Yet, as Accountable.US’ American Democracy Scorecard revealed, the industry’s political spending quickly showed they weren’t serious.
Big Tech ranked among the worst offenders when it comes to boosting the voices and campaign war chests of anti-democracy lawmakers just months after the failed coup attempt – earning them an average score of 69 out of 100. During the 2022 election cycle alone, Fortune 100 technology companies contributed over $1.2 million to members of Congress who opposed federal voting rights legislation and over $120,000 to members who refused to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Meanwhile, despite promoting “a series of election tools and strategies” to tackle an expected ”deluge of political misinformation” during the 2022 election, Big Tech continued to allow disinformation to run rampant on their platforms. According to Stanford’s Internet Observatory, the amount of content considered “election disinformation” grew on social media platforms after 2020.
Big Tech’s commitment to democracy shouldn’t be something they can switch on and off. Poll after poll has shown consumers overwhelmingly support companies that stand up for democracy – it’s time for companies like Alphabet and Apple to help pull the plug on election denialism and misinformation.
