On Tuesday, Congressmen G. K. Butterfield (NC-01), David E. Price (NC-04), and Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph. D. (NC-12) sent a letter to Facebook’s Head of Global Policy Management, Monika Bickert, regarding recent reports that the company is allowing political groups, including Super PACs, to purchase paid political ads that spread misinformation among North Carolina voters, often in violation of Facebook’s own policies. The letter urges Facebook to take immediate action to stop deceptive advertising that has been discredited by third-party fact checkers and inquire about proactive steps the company will take to stop the spread of misinformation.

 “We all have a role to play in protecting the sanctity of our democratic processes and with the vast reach Facebook has in our society, it has an obligation to stop the spread of disinformation and misleading political advertising on its platform,” said Congressman Butterfield. “With only days left until Election Day 2020, action must be taken immediately to ensure voters on Facebook are receiving factual information.”

"Misleading and false political content on social media platforms like Facebook can cause voter confusion, empower special interests, and even undermine the fairness of our democratic elections,” said Congressman Price. “With potentially millions of voters exposed to deceptive political advertising on its platform, Facebook has a duty to ensure it does not become a vector for disinformation. In the critical days leading up to the 2020 election, we’re asking Facebook to immediately confront these troubling reports and take action to protect the health of our democracy.” 

“Freedom of speech does not mean freedom of reach,” said Congresswoman Adams. “Nonetheless, Facebook has become a super spreader of misleading viral and paid content. Companies like Facebook are responsible for the content they lend a platform to, especially when that platform is paid for. Facebook must take proactive steps to stop the spread of disinformation; both the health of our body politic and Facebook’s own credibility are at stake.” 

The text of the letter can be found below, and a copy of the letter can be found here.