Bacon, Gottheimer, ADL Announce Legislation to Combat Terrorists & Disinformation on Social Media

Social Media Apps are Breeding Ground for Terrorist Organizations and Sympathizers; Follows Grok AI’s Antisemitic and Violent Posts

Washington – Reps. Don Bacon (NE-2) and Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), and Anti-Defamation League (ADL) CEO and National Director Jonathan Greenblatt held a press conference to announce bipartisan legislation — the Stopping Terrorists Online Presence and Holding Accountable Tech Entities (STOP HATE) Act — to combat terrorists and disinformation on social media.

Video of the press conference can be found here.

“Everybody in our country is entitled to respect and not to be the object of hate and scorn. We want to be in a country that makes clear that antisemitism or any kind of racism is repugnant, unacceptable, not allowed in an online space, and that we have zero tolerance for it,” said Rep. Bacon. “We need to work with our social media companies to clean this up because what is going on is wrong. We need to hold these companies accountable and work with them to take it off the airwaves.”

“We’ve seen an explosion of disinformation and antisemitic hate online in America and around the world — especially since the horrific October 7 terrorist attacks…After the shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum, anti-Zionist extremists used social media to call for further violence, posting messages like ‘may all Zionists burn.’ Even AI platforms like Grok have posted deeply disturbing content, praising Adolf Hitler and Nazism,” said Rep. Gottheimer. “There is a massive disinformation campaign influencing us every day. Our legislation will be a new tool in our online arsenal to protect our nation against terrorists and foreign adversaries that continue to threaten us in new ways.”

“The world’s oldest hate is crossing borders and going viral. One of the main drivers supercharging the global rise in antisemitism is the unregulated proliferation of extremists online who are looking to seed divisions among us and drive hate,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO and National Director. “Today’s extremists exploit social media to recruit, radicalize, and incite violence – often in violation of these platforms’ own terms of service. As antisemitism and hate surge to record levels, the STOP HATE Act is a vital bipartisan bill that will hold tech platforms accountable for hosting terrorist and extremist content. This bill will provide essential oversight and ensure companies enforce their own policies. I am grateful for Congressmen Gottheimer and Bacon for their leadership and partnership on this issue, and urge Congress to pass the STOP HATE Act without delay.”

Since the brutal October 7 terrorist attacks on Israel, social media organizations have failed to stop the spread of disinformation and antisemitic hate online. State sponsors of terror and their proxies — especially Iran, Hamas, and its affiliates — consistently use social media platforms to spread propaganda and disinformation. Additionally, foreign-owned platforms — including CCP-connected TikTok — have vague content moderation policies that easily expose young Americans to propaganda from our adversaries.

Bacon and Gottheimer are announcing the bipartisan STOP HATE Act to help stop terrorism and disinformation on social media and online. This legislation is supported by ADL.

The bipartisan STOP HATE Act will:

• Require social media companies to release detailed reports of violations to their terms of service and how they are addressing content generated by Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) or Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs).
• Require social media companies to explain the standard by which they would judge whether content generated or proliferated by terrorists would be deemed in a violation of the company’s terms of service.

• Every day social media companies do not comply, it will result in a $5 million fine.

• Require the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to report on the use of social media by terrorist organizations.

Social media platforms are breeding grounds for antisemitic hate and disinformation:

• The ADL’s 2024 Social Media Scorecard found that the five major social media platforms — Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and X — routinely failed to act on antisemitic hate reported to them.
• Earlier this month, Grok — the AI chatbot developed by xAI — posted deeply alarming messages on the social media platform X, including support for Adolf Hitler, Nazism, extreme violence, and sexual assault.
• After the shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum, anti-Zionist extremist groups flocked to social media to call for further violence. 

• On Instagram, extremist groups posted news of the attack with the caption: “May all Zionists burn.” 
• One group leader posted the text, “Death to Nazis,” on top of photos of the victims.

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