Letter to the Hon. Mark Zuckerberg, Chairman and CEO of Facebook, and Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter - Carter Calls Out Big Tech's Hypocrisy

Letter

Mr. Zuckerberg and Mr. Dorsey,
Your companies have taken very public steps, ranging from deplatforming a sitting President to
censoring cartoons shared by conservatives, in what you have described as a concerted effort to
combat disinformation. I wholeheartedly disagree with any form of censorship on your platform.
However, if you are going to censor information in the name of "misinformation," it must be
done in an impartial manner. Unfortunately, after seeing countless posts with false information
regarding Georgia's Election Integrity Act, it is clear that is not the case. I write today to demand
that you immediately rectify this blatant hypocrisy.
You have remained silent on -- and allowed individuals in the leadership of your companies to
participate in -- the organized disinformation campaign against Georgia's new election integrity
law.
It has been clearly reported that this law will expand voting opportunities.
1 However, there are
numerous examples on your platforms of people spreading false information. In fact, the
Washington Post recently gave President Biden's comments on the law four Pinocchios
following a fact check.
2 But, you continue to allow similar provably false content regarding the
law to be spread on your platforms.
Not only are you allowing misinformation to run rampant on your platforms, but public
statements made on behalf of your companies are contributing to this spread of misinformation.
At Facebook, Roy Austin, the Deputy General Counsel for Civil Rights, said in reference to the
Election Integrity Act, "we… oppose efforts to make it harder for people to vote," despite the
1 Stephen Fowler, What Does Georgia's New Voting Law SB 202 Do?, Georgia Public Broadcasting (March 27,
2021), available at https://www.gpb.org/news/2021/03/27/what-does-georgias-new-voting-law-sb-202-do
2 Glenn Kessler, Biden falsely claims the new Georgia law "ends voting hours early', Washington Post (March 30,
2021) available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/03/30/biden-falsely-claims-new-georgia-lawends-voting-hours-early/
Act expanding access to voting. Jessica Herrera-Flanigan, the Vice President of Public Policy in
the Americas at Twitter, wrote "it is critical that we collectively oppose voter suppression and
promote voting access and election transparency."3
Again, a provably false statement used in
regard to the new Georgia law.
To maintain public trust, your companies must approach misinformation with an even hand,
regardless of the source's political affiliation and it's alignment with the political beliefs of your
executives. It is clear however, with respect to this law, that you have foregone such an impartial
balance. With both of your companies allocating significant resources and pledging elections as a
priority, it's important that you focus on the facts.
Mr. Zuckerberg, you told me in a hearing on March 25th that Facebook "applies your policies to
all situations" and that you "apply your policies equally." Mr. Dorsey, in that same hearing you
said you "are looking for all opportunities to minimize anything that takes away from the
integrity of elections."4
If you really want to show impartiality, let the truth come out.
There is clear misinformation circulating on your platforms about this law and its changes. For
example, a tweet from a verified account on March 26th labeled it as a "racist law" and has nearly
8,000 retweets.
5 Other posts can be found on Facebook that push a narrative of voter suppression
to hundreds of thousands of people.
6 As I mentioned in recent questions to you both, elections
should be treated in a serious, but fair, manner. Now is your opportunity to stop the hypocrisy.
Sincerely,

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