The spread of false information or inflammatory or threatening statements about the perpetrators or the crime itself reduces public safety and may violate federal law. We have seen time and again that the spread of falsehoods about refugees divides our communities.

Imagine that there was an allegation of an unnamed white police officer sexually assaulting a young girl, and imagine that there were stories — even highly inaccurate ones — circulating online accusing the police department of covering up the assault, which led to threats to local government officials. And imagine that a U.S. attorney in the Bush administration made a public statement saying, among other things, that “We have seen time and again that the spread of falsehoods about police officers divides our communities,” and that “The spread of false information or inflammatory or threatening statements about the police officer or the crime itself reduces public safety and may violate federal law.”