- Nikki Haley says anonymous social media accounts and bots pose a “national security threat.”
- “Every person on social media should be verified by their name,” Haley told Fox News on Tuesday.
- When you do that, all of a sudden people have to stand by what they say,” Haley said.
GOP presidential hopeful Nikki Haley says people need to use their true identities on social media.
The former US ambassador to the United Nations made an appearance on Fox News on Tuesday, where she called for tighter policing of social media platforms.
“It is why when I get into office, the first thing we have to do, social media companies, they have to show America their algorithms. Let us see why they’re pushing what they’re pushing,” Haley said about her priorities should she win the presidency.
“The second thing is every person on social media should be verified by their name,” she continued.
Earlier in the interview, Haley blamed foreign countries for sowing divisions within the US by spreading misinformation on social media.
“The truth is, if you look at social media, the misinformation and the dramatic sides of social media are instigating this. Why? Because it’s being pushed by Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea,” Haley said.
Haley said this was why her proposals would be necessary to counter the “national security threat” posed by anonymous social media accounts and social media bots.
“When you do that, all of a sudden people have to stand by what they say, and it gets rid of the Russian bots, the Iranian bots, and the Chinese bots,” Haley said.
“And then you’re gonna get some civility when people know their name is next to what they say, and they know their pastor and their family member’s gonna see it. It’s gonna help our kids and it’s gonna help our country,” she continued.
Social media platforms have become a source of contention among Haley and her fellow presidential candidates.
During last week’s GOP debate, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy sidestepped a question on how he would ban TikTok by saying that Haley’s own daughter has been on the platform “for a long time.”
“Leave my daughter out of your voice,” Haley fired back at Ramaswamy. “You are just scum.”
On Tuesday, Ramaswamy slammed Haley’s proposals on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“This is a flagrant violation of the Constitution and straight out of the Democrats’ playbook,” Ramaswamy wrote.
“Any politician who thinks it’s OK for the government to use the private sector as its censorship bureau shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the White House,” he added.
Representatives for Haley did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.
