Silicon Valley is losing the battle against election misinformation - POLITICO

Social media companies are struggling with an onslaught of deceptive and divisive messaging from political parties, foreign governments and hate groups... echo the Russian ... efforts ... U.S. 2016 presidential election... far more insidious and sophisticated ... And ... amplified by mainstream news outlets and major U.S. political figures ...

National flashpoints ... Covid-19 ... Black Lives Matter ... more targets for sowing divisions... foreign interference campaigns have evolved, domestic groups are copycatting ... partisan scrutiny ... makes their judgment ... more politically fraught ...

over the next few months... possible use ... deepfakes,

Facebook... removed about 50 networks ... last year... just one in 2017... IRA... operating at a higher level... impersonate legitimate U.S. groups [as]... social media companies ... do not want to limit users’ freedom of expression...

Moscow- and Beijing-backed media ... flood ... content stoking racial and political divisions... first time ... China fully engaged in a narrative battle that doesn’t directly affect Chinese interests ...

far-right and white supremacist activists ... mimick the Kremlin’s strategies ... domestic misinformation ... more widespread phenomenon... Political leaders get a pass on misleading posts that would be flagged ... from other users... American political parties ... creating partisan news organizations... promoting partisan stories on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter... do not disclose political affiliations ... Facebook ... classifies them as “news and media” ...