Our Enemies Weaponize Misinformation
On Wednesday, I was honored to attend the address by Ukrainian President Zelenskyy as he spoke to Congress over Zoom, pleading for help for his people as they fight for their freedom and their lives. As Russian President Vladimir Putin has continued to terrorize innocent civilians in Ukraine this week, I stand firm that we must give the Ukrainian people every tool possible to defend themselves, including allowing the transfer of planes from Poland.
The American people have watched in horror as reports and videos surface of innocent Ukrainians caught in the crossfire. Americans are faced with a slew of information from news sites and social media, but some of the information may seem contradictory. Russia, like China, has blocked access to news sources critical of the Putin regime and has bolstered state-run media in order to brainwash Russian citizens and conceal the state’s malign actions. Similarly, it is in Russia’s best interest to confuse American citizens with misinformation about its unprovoked attack on Ukraine and its motivations for doing so.
Over the past several years, we have seen social media increasingly become a breeding ground for misinformation and radicalization. While Russia has been banned from buying advertisements on Facebook, China has been allowed to buy at least 21 ads on Facebook pushing Russian propaganda and fear mongering fabrications. China shouldn’t be allowed to be a mouthpiece for a murderous Russian regime.
Sadly, social media has become an effective tool for bad actors to sow division within our democracy to serve their own interests. That is why I sent a bipartisan letter with Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) to Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg demanding answers about why the Chinese Communist Party is allowed to spew lies meant to divide the American people against Ukraine. We must hold companies like Meta accountable for allowing obviously false information from foreign powers to mislead Americans, especially when media giants like Facebook deliberately censor Americans who share different, but certainly not violent, opinions about issues such as the controversy surrounding transgender athletes. To censor conservative opinion, but allow dictators to spread baseless propaganda and continue fomenting an unjust war that is costing innocent Ukrainian lives is pure hypocrisy. I hope this letter will highlight this double standard to Meta and look forward to their response by the end of the month.