New York congressional members request investigation of social media’s use in spreading hate

Five members of New York’s congressional delegation recently sent a letter to top-ranking national security officials requesting an investigation into how foreign adversaries use social media to cause hate and civil unrest in the United States.

The letter was sent to Christopher Wray, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director; Gina Haspel, Central Intelligence Agency director; Chad Wolf, Homeland Security acting secretary; and Mark Esper, secretary of defense.

“We are requesting that your offices specifically investigate potential state-sponsored campaigns by our foreign adversaries to sow civil unrest in America using social media disinformation campaigns, corruption, and foreign actors,” the letter said. “The power of social media provides nefarious actors the ability to exploit ignorance and spread hate, in an effort to undermine national unity for their strategic interest. In addition to tanks, missiles, and soldiers, we must be conscious of our adversaries’ efforts to undermine our nation using cyberspace, economic systems, and corruption.”

From 2016-2017, hate crimes increased 17 percent, according to an FBI report. Anti-Semitic crimes alone increased 37 percent in 2017, while racially motivated attacks or ethnical prejudice doubled.

The Justice Department charged 13 Russians and three companies last February with using fraudulent social media accounts, online political advertisements, and other tools to subvert the 2016 election.