Blue Dogs Call on Trump Administration to Combat COVID-19 Disinformation
In February, the Word Health Organization issued a report warning that the COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by an infodemic.
Note: This was originally published on March 19, 2020.
The Blue Dog Coalition sent a letter to President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence calling for the Administration to take immediate action to combat the surging level of disinformation on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Specifically, the Blue Dog Coalition urged the Administration to do the following: launch a fact-based, nonpartisan public service announcement campaign; require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to update data on the pandemic at least twice per day, seven days a week; and consider measures to hold social media companies accountable should those companies allow disinformation to run rampant on their platforms.
In a February 2020 report, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the COVID-19 pandemic and its response “has been accompanied by a massive ‘infodemic,’ an over-abundance of information — some accurate and some not — that makes it hard for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance when they need it.” Recent press reports have revealed that Russia is waging a disinformation campaign about the COVID-19 pandemic in order to sow fear and panic in the West.
The Co-Chairs of the Blue Dog Task Force on National Security, Reps. Max Rose (NY-11) and Kendra Horn (OK-05), were the lead authors. The letter was signed by all members of Blue Dog Coalition leadership, Reps. Stephanie Murphy (FL-07), Tom O’Halleran (AZ-01), Lou Correa (CA-46), Anthony Brindisi (NY-22), and Kurt Schrader (OR-05). Additionally, the following members signed the letter: Rep. Sanford Bishop (GA-02), Rep. Ed Case (HI-01) Rep. Jim Costa (CA-16), Rep. Charlie Crist (FL-13), Rep. Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15), Rep. Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Rep. Ben McAdams (UT-04), Rep. Brad Schneider (IL-10), Rep. Abigail Spanberger (VA-07), and Rep. Xochitl Torres Small (NM-02).
