Several Democratic state top election officials have written a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, urging the company to stop allowing ads that claim the 2020 presidential election was stolen. These officials believe that such ads will further erode trust in elections and contribute to threats of political violence against election workers. Former President Donald Trump continues to insist that he won the election, despite no evidence of widespread fraud. Election workers across the country have faced threats and harassment since the 2020 election, leading to a historic turnover of election workers.
The letter to Meta was signed by secretaries of state from Colorado, Maine, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Vermont, as well as Wisconsin Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski. The letter accuses Meta of allowing extremists and election deniers to undermine elections and urges the company to repeal its policy allowing such ads. Reviews, recounts, and audits in swing states where the election results were challenged have all confirmed Joe Biden’s victory. Trump continues to make false claims about the election, even stating that he won Wisconsin despite losing to Biden.
Since the 2020 election, there have been threats and intimidation directed at election workers. A survey by the Brennan Center for Justice found that 34% of local election officials knew of election workers leaving their jobs due to safety fears. Meta has defended its efforts to protect elections globally, stating that it will review content to determine if it violates its community standards regarding election and voter interference, hate speech, and violence related to voting. The company has stated that it will remove election-related content that includes misinformation about voting.
YouTube announced a similar policy to Meta’s last year, stating that it would stop removing content falsely claiming previous U.S. presidential elections were compromised by fraud. However, the Democratic secretaries of state are specifically concerned with ads related to the 2020 election that repeat false claims of election rigging. The Democratic Association of Secretaries of State organized the letter and circulated it only among Democrats. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows emphasized the importance of voters knowing the truth about elections to maintain confidence and participation in the electoral process.
Overall, the Democratic secretaries of state are urging Meta to stop allowing ads that claim the 2020 presidential election was stolen, citing concerns about eroding trust in elections and threats of violence against election workers. Despite no evidence of widespread fraud, Former President Donald Trump continues to insist he won the election. Election workers have faced threats and harassment since the 2020 election, leading to a turnover of workers. Meta has defended its efforts to protect elections but the Democratic secretaries of state are concerned about ads related to the 2020 election that perpetuate false claims. The Democratic Association of Secretaries of State organized the letter to Meta, underscoring the importance of voters knowing the truth about elections to maintain confidence and participation in the electoral process.
