‘THE BIG LIE’ STILL CIRCULATES — Twelve months since the Capitol riot left five people dead and the country still more divided, social media companies still face a barrage of questions about their role in fomenting the violence. POLITICO’s Mark Scott and Rebecca Kern reviewed a month of social media activity — across Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, as well as alternative sites like Telegram, Gettr and Gab — and found that misinformation about the Jan. 6 insurrection and 2020 election is still getting through. That's despite mainstream platforms' unprecedented efforts, including the banning of former President Donald Trump. In private Facebook groups, swing-state voters routinely shared debunked news reports about election fraud. On Twitter and YouTube, users made comments claiming Joe Biden's presidency is a fraud. And in the more obscure parts of the internet, domestic extremists openly discuss again taking to the streets if, as they believe, the Democrats try to steal the upcoming midterm elections. "There's been a mainstreaming of historical revisionism about what happened on Jan. 6," said Jared Holt, resident fellow at Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab. Over the last 12 months, social media influencers have tried to recast the violence as a legitimate protest against a disputed election — and have used social media to take that message to the masses, he added. — So what has been the congressional response? “I think social media played a role in both isolating Americans from each other, and in accelerating extremist views about our politics and spreading baseless conspiracy theories,” said Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), who is leading one of the only bipartisan efforts to boost outside access to social media platforms’ data. But, he added, the failure of Congress to act has not helped the situation. “We have different views of what's the harm that most needs to be stopped based on our politics and because — as a society — we're committed to free speech.” (For more: POLITICO’s Congress team spoke to lawmakers on where the Capitol stands a year after Jan. 6.) Meanwhile, the DOJ’s investigation continues: In a speech Wednesday, Attorney General Merrick Garland said 140 DOJ prosecutors are investigating the Jan. 6 riot. So far, they have reviewed more than 20,000 hours of video and collected 15 terabytes of data as part of the probe. (Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney have a full rundown on Garland’s speech.) And as Colin Clarke reports for POLITICO Magazine, the Biden administration needs a new approach to extremism, as the biggest danger today is from lone-wolf types — not from groups like the Proud Boys. NTIA NOMINEE ON THE MOVE — Alan Davidson, Biden’s pick to head the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, could get a vote as soon as next week, after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed for cloture late Wednesday. HOW WIKIMEDIA KEEPS MISINFORMATION AT BAY – Addressing misinformation and disinformation online is one of the “most important issues“ facing the tech industry today, the Wikimedia Foundation's newest CEO, Maryana Iskander, told Rebecca in an interview. The Wikimedia Foundation oversees Wikipedia, which is run by more than 250,000 volunteer editors and contributors located in almost every part of the world (including Antarctica). Its mission is to provide credible, factual content from volunteers, Iskander said. The company has processes to track mis- and disinformation on the site, as well as trust and safety protocols that can block people from sharing information that isn’t in line with Wikipedia’s standards.The company also deploys AI to alert editors when changes have been made to an article, and certain articles are locked, so not just anyone can edit them, Iskander said. — Each article has a “Talk” page that tracks every edit made. That ”radical transparency,”, she said, ensures the site can provide “neutrality and a well-sourced and well-resourced point of view.” Wikipedia formed an election task force ahead of the 2020 elections with the help of 36,000 volunteers to track 2,000 election-related articles, and the site also blocked public edits during the election. As a result, only 33 corrections needed to be made, Iskander said. Going into the midterms, Wikipedia is prepared to take actions to reduce the spread of misinformation before voting day. — Wikipedia has worked closely with the World Health Organization to ensure accurate Covid-19 information is on its platform as well, Iskander said. FCC TO VOTE ON BROADBAND ‘NUTRITION LABEL’ THIS MONTH — FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel is finally moving ahead with a vote planned for Jan. 27 on “a proposal to establish simple-to-understand broadband labels, whereby internet providers would disclose accurate information about prices, introductory rates, data allowances, and broadband speeds,” she wrote in a blog post Wednesday . — Long-awaited action: Consumer advocates have pushed for such a transparency mechanism since the Obama years, but broadband affordability efforts gained new momentum over the last year. Biden included a directive for such FCC action in his competition executive order this summer. And then lawmakers included their own call for FCC action as part of the bipartisan infrastructure law enacted in November. — One open question is whether the FCC, with its two Democratic and two Republican members, will still be deadlocked at the end of this month. Democrats have hoped to confirm Gigi Sohn to fill the commission’s open seat and create a Democratic majority. That’s proven tough, given intense GOP blowback to her nomination and a Democratic caucus that’s been slow to coalesce in support. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), a crucial swing vote, told John this week that she’ll vote yes, citing private reassurances Sohn gave her last month. — Even in the middle of CES (more on that below), Consumer Technology President Gary Shapiro found the time to write another endorsement of Sohn. “Gigi is a pragmatic problem solver who understands what it takes to make innovation thrive,” he wrote in a blog post. WITHOUT FURTHER ADO: CES 2022 — The cancellations keep coming — and that hell of a D.C. snowstorm Monday didn’t help, either — but the Consumer Technology Association’s main event of the year is underway, both in Las Vegas and on your computer screen. Despite some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley (Meta), Washington (House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn ) and Hollywood (Paris Hilton) dropping out due to concerns about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, the pared-down CES has been anything but empty, as John observed on the ground. Exhibit halls are still decked out, and many hundreds of attendees are still roaming the ground. — What’s jumped out so far: Sustainability — and how companies can better protect the environment as they innovate — has been a key theme. There has also been a larger-than-ever focus on the digital health space, which is expected to further explode as we enter the third year of the Covid pandemic, as well as emphasis on how tech companies are targeting Gen Z and younger markets. (Expect lawmakers, who are very wary of the industry’s ability to protect the children and teens using these technologies, to take note from afar.) — What’s ahead: Policy discussions will heat up even more today, when we’ll hear from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and former FTC commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen, and on Friday, when female senators will dish on their 2022 tech policy agenda and another panel will dig into antitrust issues across the industry. — Check out POLITICO’s pop-up newsletter by John and our colleague Alexandra Levine on all the policy goings-on at CES. | 
