Americans Support Free Speech Online but Want More Action to Curb Harmful Content

As the COVID-19 crisis continues and the debate rages on between Twitter and President Trump over online content moderation, a new report from Gallup and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation found that Americans understand the threat of misinformation to public health and democracy, and want misleading information removed from social media.

However, the public’s desire to address the “infodemic,” or the excessive amounts of often false or unverified information around the coronavirus, clashes with Americans’ overwhelming support for freedom of expression online. …

77% of Americans say major internet and technology companies like Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple have too much power. … Solid majorities of Americans say that political ads containing outright falsehoods — including targeting supporters of an opposing candidate with ads that give the wrong election date (81%) — should be banned by social media platforms. CONT.

Knight Foundation


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