Why DNC Staffers Want to Control Foreign Interference

By Ariana Koniecko and Emmalyne Rhode

Yesterday afternoon, West Wing DNC staffers proposed a bipartisan bill to protect the American people from foreign meddling that threatens their everyday lives. Do foreign countries have too much influence over us? And to what extent do we monitor social media? DNC staffers argue that more needs to be done to manage outside involvement in American social media and, by extension, American elections. 

With the current Republican administration, Democrats participating in the West Wing Committee urge one another to create and present more policies and solutions to protect, not only the future of the Democratic party in Congress, but the future of America as a whole. Maeve Burke (D) stresses that foreign nations — including Russia, China, and Iran — have excessive influence over the American people, threatening their freedoms and liberties, and directly controlling the present. 

The poster illustrates a call to counter interference in American elections with their campaign “Count the votes.” Shows hands of foreign countries grasping tightly to American media, values, elections, and freedoms.

Burke argues for the importance of reinstating American control and presence within its civilian population, confident that this policy will lead to the bipartisan agreement that protecting American civilians is of the utmost importance. Fellow Democrats in the West Wing, Arlo Heltzer (D) and Cate Boehmcke (D), assert that the key to regaining American control is to attack the issues on social media first.

Heltzer repeatedly stated the detrimental effects that foreign powers have on social media, specifically their influence over youth: “Russia is putting fake information into our (United States of America) social media. Which is affecting our youth…” Heltzer and his team are working to improve the security and reliability of digital communities by controlling the narrative that is represented, implementing procedures to maintain an all-American and all-human media.

Clarity in funding and article sources to increase transparency in public media may encourage Americans to avoid information from outside nations. Heltzer argues that fake information posted by foreign countries will “not only affect elections now, but years and years in the future.” Social media is constantly influencing Americans and, to counter foreign meddling, Heltzer and Boehmcke offer a possible solution: an agency tasked with protecting and monitoring election security by securing polling machines and countering misinformation campaigns.

Strengthening election security by protecting the American people and their media from foreign interference is a necessity. A bipartisan bill like the one proposed by DNC staffers will work to reduce and eliminate social media disinformation with the help of an executive agency made for election security. America must not wait. Call your local Representative and urge them to vote yes on this bill.