Democratic Reps. Deborah Ross (N.C.), Kathy Castor (Fla.), Nikema Williams (Ga.) and Wiley Nickel (N.C.) sent a letter to tech companies Friday expressing concerns about the uptick in misinformation, disinformation and scams following the extreme weather in their districts.
This stream of misinformation is hindering the recovery process in the South, the lawmakers wrote, echoing comments made on the issue earlier this week by federal, state and local officials.
“Disaster response agencies, climate scientists and rescue organizations work tirelessly to provide critical information and render assistance to those impacted by catastrophic events,” the lawmakers wrote. “The lies, scams, and conspiracies widely circulating on your platforms compromise their ability to work effectively and place the lives and safety of Americans at risk.”
The letter was sent to the leaders of X, Meta, Discord, Snapchat, YouTube and Instagram.
A spokesperson for X told The Hill the company looks “forward to responding to the letter.” The platform includes a “Community Notes” crowdsourcing feature intended to fact-check false or misleading posts.
To combat misinformation on TikTok, the company said it is directing users who watch hurricane-related content to FEMA’s official website to “verify natural disaster info.”
TikTok said it does not permit misinformation that causes harm to individuals or society, or includes violent threats.
The lawmakers laid out a series of steps they believe will prevent the further spread of falsehoods.
This includes increased monitoring and removal of misinformation and disinformation, enhanced fact-checking partnerships with local agencies and disaster relief organizations and stronger safeguards against scams.
Algorithms also should be “strengthened” to better flag conspiracy theories, the lawmakers argued.
The false claims began shortly after Helene hit Florida, Georgia and North Carolina late last month, leaving widespread destruction and an extensive recovery process for hundreds of thousands of residents.
Read more at TheHill.com.
