A coalition of 12 Democratic state AGs send a letter to Facebook and Twitter demanding more action on COVID-19 anti-vaccination misinformation
Washington Post
Context & Ripple Effects
The 12-AG demand narrows an existing state-attorney-general campaign against platform harms: a 2020 coalition had already pressed Facebook to curb hate, bias, and disinformation, while a separate COVID-era group sought safeguards against price gouging across major online marketplaces.
The letter also foreshadows more targeted scrutiny of Facebook’s vaccine policies. Later coverage shows DC seeking internal material through a subpoena over COVID misinformation handling, and another AG coalition seeking answers about vaccine misinformation and VIP-account treatment.
First-order effects
Facebook and Twitter face coordinated public pressure from 12 Democratic state AGs to strengthen their handling of COVID-19 anti-vaccination misinformation.
The demand puts Facebook’s and Twitter’s moderation decisions on vaccine claims under a shared state-enforcement spotlight rather than leaving the issue to company policy alone.
Second-order effects
Facebook’s later subpoena from DC shows how state attention to COVID misinformation can move beyond letters toward demands for internal records, raising the stakes for how platforms document enforcement decisions.
The coalition model gives state AGs a repeatable way to press platforms on distinct harms, as shown by later vaccine-misinformation demands directed at Zuckerberg.
Third-order effects
If these coordinated demands continue, state AGs are positioned to become recurring external overseers of platform safety practices, using letters and investigative tools across misinformation and other online harms.
The pattern shifts pressure from broad content-policy debates toward evidence of how a platform applies its safeguards, including whether enforcement differs for particular accounts.
The trend: State attorneys general are increasingly coordinating to turn platform-content concerns into sustained accountability campaigns centered on companies’ enforcement practices.
“They say that falsehoods about the safety of coronavirus vaccines from a small pool of individuals has reached over 59 million followers on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter, citing data from the Center for Countering Digital Hate.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
The science is clear: the #COVID19 vaccine saves lives, and we must ensure that there are no barriers to individuals receiving their dose. @Facebook and @Twitter must do their part and stop the spread of #COVID19 vaccine disinformation on their platforms.
@Facebook and @Twitter need to do a better job of stopping the spread of COVID-19 vaccine disinformation. We wrote to @Facebook Mark Zuckerberg & @Twitter @jack to urge them to follow their own guidelines. When misinformation spreads online, vaccine hesitancy increases. 💪💉 https:…
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro is one of 12 attorneys generals calling on Facebook and Twitter “to take stronger measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 vaccine disinformation being spread by anti-vaxxers on their social platforms. https://www.pahomepage.com/...
States' Attorneys General are demanding that @Twitter and @Facebook do more to stop the torrent of disinformation originating from a dozen antivaxxers, citing analysis from @CCDHate https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
People make good choices when they have good info but right now Covid vaccine misinformation is spreading like wildfire on Twitter and FB. They need to stamp it out. Peoples' lives are at stake. Proud to sign this letter demanding they do so. https://washingtonpost.com/...
BREAKING: Attorney General @JoshStein_ and 11 other attorneys general today called on Facebook and Twitter to take stronger measures to stop the spread of anti-vaxxer coronavirus disinformation on their social media platforms. https://ncdoj.gov/... https://twitter.com/...
BREAKING Our coalition of AGs is calling on @Facebook and @Twitter to stop the spread of anti-vaxxer disinformation. We're at a critical point in our nation's road to recovery from COVID. Vaccine disinformation threatens to undermine all our hard work. We can't let it.
Coronavirus conspiracy theories peddled by uninformed anti-vaxxers have reached millions on social media. These posts violate @Facebook and @Twitter policies. Facebook and Twitter must enforce their own policies, or risk prolonging this pandemic. https://portal.ct.gov/... https:/…
NEW >> 12 Dem AGs—led by @WilliamTongCT—demand FB & Twitter crack down on vaccine misinfo. “Conspiracy theories peddled by a small # of uninformed anti-vaxxers have reached tens of millions of social media followers... [&] risk prolonging this pandemic.” https://www.washingtonpos…