PETITION TO STATE GOVERNORS, ATTORNEYS GENERAL, AND STATE LEGISLATORS
Propaganda Gets You Time — State Level Action
In Demand of Immediate State-Level Media Accountability

TO: The Governor, Attorney General, and Members of the State Legislature of [State]
FROM: The Undersigned Residents and Constituents of [State]
RE: Immediate State Executive Action, Consumer Protection Enforcement, and Legislative Action on Knowing Disinformation Targeting [State] Residents

We, the undersigned residents and registered voters of this state, respectfully and urgently petition our Governor, Attorney General, and state legislators to take immediate action — within your existing authority — to protect the residents of this state from the documented and ongoing harm caused by the deliberate, knowing spread of disinformation through broadcast, social media, and digital platforms.
We are not waiting for Congress. We are calling on you — our elected and appointed state officials — to act now, using the legal authority you already have.

The Problem Is Here. In This State.
The average American adult now spends more than seven hours per day on screens. More than two and a half of those hours are spent on social media platforms — the least regulated disinformation vectors in existence. The residents of this state are consuming content every single day that platforms have internally flagged as false and continue to amplify because outrage drives engagement and engagement drives revenue.
This is not a technology problem or a federal problem. It is a consumer protection emergency — and consumer protection is squarely within state authority. Residents of this state have been deceived, manipulated, radicalized, and in documented cases endangered by content that was knowingly false at the time it was created and broadcast. The people responsible have faced no meaningful legal consequence. That must change — starting here, starting now.

What We Are Demanding
From Our Governor — Immediately, by Executive Order:
We call on the Governor to act without waiting for legislation by:
Issuing an executive order establishing that no state agency, department, or office shall purchase advertising on any platform or network that has been formally documented — by court finding, regulatory determination, or journalistic investigation using primary sources — to have repeatedly and knowingly broadcast disinformation to the public. State advertising dollars must not fund the disinformation economy.
Directing the State Attorney General to open a formal consumer protection investigation into the practices of social media platforms and broadcast networks that have knowingly distributed false information to residents of this state, using existing consumer fraud and deceptive practices statutes.
Creating a Governor's Disinformation Accountability Task Force, charged with producing a public report within 90 days identifying: the specific platforms and entities responsible for the greatest documented disinformation exposure to state residents; the legal remedies available under current state law; and specific legislative recommendations for the current session.
From Our Attorney General — Immediately, Using Existing Authority:
We call on the Attorney General to act under existing consumer protection, consumer fraud, and deceptive trade practices statutes by:
Opening a formal investigation into social media platforms and broadcast entities that have knowingly amplified content their own internal systems flagged as false — a direct deception of consumers and a clear consumer fraud issue within state AG jurisdiction that does not require touching federal Section 230 immunity.
Joining or initiating a multi-state Attorney General coalition to compel platform transparency and accountability through coordinated legal action — the same coalition approach that has compelled major behavioral changes from tech companies in privacy, antitrust, and consumer protection cases.
Issuing civil investigative demands to any platform or broadcaster with documented, repeated patterns of knowingly false content distributed to state residents, requiring production of internal communications, content moderation records, and advertising data relevant to the investigation.
Establishing a public Disinformation Complaint Registry where state residents can submit documented instances of knowing disinformation targeting them or their communities, creating an ongoing evidentiary record for current and future enforcement action.
From Our State Legislature — This Session:
We call on our state legislators to introduce, advance, and pass a State Media Accountability Act incorporating the following provisions:
A Platform Transparency Mandate requiring any social media platform with more than 250,000 active state resident users to submit semi-annual reports to the State Attorney General disclosing how the platform defines, detects, and acts on disinformation — with civil fines of no less than $10,000 per day for non-compliance. This provision is modeled directly on California's Social Media Accountability and Transparency Act, which has survived initial legal challenges and serves as a proven template.
Algorithmic Audit Authority granting the State AG the power to commission independent audits of platform recommendation systems to determine whether those systems knowingly amplify content the platform has internally flagged as false — creating accountability for the mechanism of disinformation spread, not just the content itself.
A Business Disruption Prohibition making it a criminal offense to knowingly use a public broadcast or social media platform to organize, direct, or incite an audience to physically disrupt, harass, or damage a private business, residence, or event in this state without that party's consent — for the purpose of generating views, engagement, or revenue. This targets conduct, not speech, and is fully constitutional.
A Civil Right of Action giving any state resident the right to sue in state civil court when they suffer documented economic, physical, or reputational harm as a direct result of a knowingly false claim broadcast to a public audience — where the broadcaster demonstrably knew the claim was false at the time of broadcast. This creates a private enforcement pathway alongside public enforcement.
A Mandatory K–12 Media Literacy Education Requirement directing all public schools in the state to include age-appropriate media literacy instruction beginning no later than third grade — covering identification of propaganda and disinformation techniques, source evaluation, the history of state-sponsored disinformation, and the civic responsibility to verify before sharing. An informed public is the first and most durable defense against disinformation.

Why State Action Is Not Only Justified — It Is Required
The residents of this state have a right to navigate public life without being systematically deceived by entities that profit from their confusion, their fear, and their anger. That right does not depend on federal action. It depends on whether our state officials have the will to use the legal authority they already hold.
Other states are acting. California has established the national transparency template. Colorado is pursuing platform accountability through consumer protection law. New York's Attorney General has opened major tech investigations. The question is not whether state action is possible. The question is whether the officials of this state will lead, follow, or do nothing.
We are asking you to lead. We are asking you to use the consumer protection authority, the executive power, and the legislative mandate you were given by the residents of this state — for exactly this kind of moment.

This Is Not a Partisan Demand
Residents of this state across every political tradition have been lied to. Disinformation does not respect party registration. It has been used to deceive conservatives and progressives alike, to manufacture crises that never existed, and to suppress facts that every resident of this state deserves to know.
The signers of this petition are Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and members of every other political tradition in this state. We are united not by ideology but by the shared conviction that the residents of this state deserve officials who will defend their right to accurate information — and that you have the power to do so right now.

Our Demand
We demand that you act. Not next session. Not after the next election. Now. The tools are in your hands. The constituents are at your door. The history is unambiguous about what happens when officials with the power to interrupt disinformation choose instead to wait.
We, the undersigned residents of this state, add our names to this record and call on our Governor, Attorney General, and state legislators to act.
Truth is not partisan. Lies are not speech. And the law does not have to wait for Washington.

This petition was organized by Propaganda Gets You Time — State Level Action, a nonpartisan civic accountability initiative. No personally identifying information will be shared with any government office or third party. Anonymized aggregate data — including state and general demographic information — will be shared with state officials to demonstrate the breadth of constituent demand.