Dem Lawmakers Push Elon Musk To Censor ‘Election Misinformation’ On X

Democratic lawmakers, led by California Rep. Adam Schiff, sent a letter to Elon Musk on Wednesday pressuring him to censor “election misinformation” on X — formerly Twitter — after he reportedly laid off personnel working on the issue.

The representatives wrote the letter in response to reports that Musk fired half of X’s “election integrity team,” according to the letter. They advocated for Musk to put the pieces in place to block the dissemination of “election misinformation.”

“We are looking for clarity on the issue and strongly urge you to maintain robust measures to prevent further spread of election misinformation,” the lawmakers wrote. “The layoffs made in recent days on X’s election integrity team leave us with grave concerns about the likely impact on our constituents and our democracy.”

Musk seemingly confirmed in September that the company fired the team members, stating they were actually “undermining election integrity.”

The Democratic lawmakers cited left-wing research from groups such as the Anti-Defamation League, the Center for Countering Digital Hate and the Institute for Strategic Dialogue asserting that objectionable speech has skyrocketed on X since Musk took over the platform in October 2022, according to the letter.

“As we approach another pivotal election, it is imperative that you and your leadership take election integrity seriously and prioritize a robust election integrity team,” the letter states.

X will be putting more censorship policies in place during the time period around the 2024 election by enforcing a Civic Integrity Policy, the platform announced in August.

Democratic Reps. Hank Johnson of Georgia, André Carson of Indiana, Nikema Williams of Georgia, Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Lori Trahan of Massachusetts and Pramila Jayapal of Washington also signed onto the letter.

Schiff and X did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.