It’s long been said that the first casualty of war is truth. If that is the case, we are at war. Or, at least war has been declared by an army of liars that seek to destroy the value of truth in media and society. In a world where politicians openly lie in ways that damage vulnerable populations; when social media promotes blood-libel about political opponents; when foreign actors attempt to influence US elections with targeted lies—we no longer enjoy the luxury of waiting to see what happens.

Liars have declared war on the United States. Their tactic is to pit one group of Americans needlessly against another. Their strategic goal is personal gain, regardless of the cost to the rest of us. Bad actors in the US and beyond promote politics of division and of hate. They want to bring us back not to the 1950s as is often said, but the 1450s: when no one had any rights except lord of the manor; when an unworthy priesthood ruled an impoverished peasantry; when rumor was as good as fact. They spread their targeted disinformation mostly via social media platforms. It does not have to be this way. We can help defeat disinformation by repealing a law called Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act.