Becca Rausch, Massachusetts State Senate

Abstract

For the last three years, Massachusetts State Senator Becca Rausch has been the target of identity-based and other hatred on social media as a Jewish woman and advocate for vaccine infrastructure and public health protections. These attacks only intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic – even spilling over into in-person aggression – amidst the spread of disinformation and far-right content online. She and her staff face the daily challenge of content moderation within the uncertain constraints of the First Amendment and her duty to provide an accessible platform for her constituents despite her “trolls,” most of whom are out-of-district. This presentation discusses the limitations of elected officials’ online content moderation, underscoring the need for federal statutory reform and social media platforms protecting their users and society against algorithmic bias, self-radicalization, disinformation, and online hate.

[Video]

Senator Rausch’s bio can be found here.