(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – During the middle of a pandemic that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and cost millions more jobs, President Donald Trump issued an executive order designed to have a chilling effect on certain social media companies that fact-check his discrepancies and lies. The following is a statement from Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law:
“Election disinformation stands as one of the greatest threats to democracy. President Trump’s executive order is toothless and nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to bully some social media companies that are taking long-overdue action to ensure that the public receives accurate information regarding our elections. President Trump has become the routine purveyor of false information regarding our elections to millions of Americans and private companies, like Twitter, have the right to say enough is enough. “This executive order, likely unconstitutional, is also intended to distract the public’s attention away from the fact that there are now more than 100,000 COVID-related deaths across the country and an economy that is sinking to Great Depression levels.”
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