Threads must make clear its policies on election integrity and disinformation

Published on Friday, July 7, 2023

We represent organizations working to protect our democracy, combat disinformation and defend the right to vote. With Meta’s launch of Threads, we are hopeful that you will take each of these areas of concern seriously and release a robust plan to ensure the platform has strong election policies in place from the start.

As you know, both YouTube and Twitter have recently taken concrete steps to allow election disinformation to thrive on their platforms. In the absence of strong protections for election integrity and for voters, we have seen real-world fallout, from the siege on the Capitol to a new swarm of voter suppression laws introduced in states around the country after the 2020 election. As Threads builds its audience, it is incumbent that you make it clear that the platform will not be a place where baseless conspiracies and unverified reports are allowed to proliferate.

While there is still much work to be done, we know that Facebook has devoted time and staff resources toward its election policies. Threads must do the same.

We, the undersigned, demand a full, transparent sharing of information around any and all proposed or in-place policies related to election integrity, disinformation, voting and elections. We would also be happy to meet to discuss this further to provide input and recommendations.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this pressing matter. Threads has the opportunity to be a leader in protecting our democracy in the social media sphere, and we urge you to take this opportunity – and frankly, civic duty – seriously.

Our democracy depends on it.

Signed,

Vote.org, Cause Communications, End Citizens United, GAIN Power, Let America Vote Action Fund, National Voter Corps, NETWORK Lobby, No Business With Genocide, People Power United, Public Citizen, Public Wise, RepresentUs, When We All Vote