,,ii  #aagth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #iac  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,march #bc1         
#bjba,ms4 ,hirono 7for herself1 ,mr4    
,booker1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 ,ms4         
,klobuchar1 ,mr4 ,reed1 and ,ms4        
,warren7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,health1 ,education1     
,labor1 and ,pensions  ,a ,,bill  ,to   
conduct a study on the spread of        
,,covid-#ai-related disinformation and  
misinformation on the internet and      
social media platforms1 and for other   
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,,covid-#ai         
,disinformation ,research and ,reporting
 ,act of #bjba4  #b4 ,findings ,congress
 finds the following3 7#a7 ,the         
,national ,academies of ,sciences1      
,engineering1 and ,medicine and the     
,national ,science ,foundation have     
provided scientific1 evidence-based     
findings and foundational research1     
across all disciplines1 that benefit the

 people of the ,united ,states4  7#b7   
,accurate and reliable information is   
imperative for health and safety during 
a national emergency like the           
,,covid-#ai pandemic4  7#c7             
,disinformation and misinformation have 
spread alarmingly during the ,,covid-#ai
 pandemic1 hindering the public response
 efforts of ,federal1 ,state1 local1 and
 indigenous leaders4  7#d7 ,the internet
 and social media have made it easier to
 spread fake medical information1 such  
as unproven treatments for ,,covid-#ai1 
or inaccurate information that          
undermines scientific experts4  7#e7    
,the internet and social media have     
likewise made it easier to spread       
disinformation and misinformation about 
the safety and efficacy of ,,covid-#ai  
vaccines1 impacting public acceptance of
 the vaccines and threatening to prolong
 the pandemic4  7#f7 ,,covid-#ai-related
 disinformation has been weaponized by  
foreign adversaries1 including ,russia1 
,china1 and ,iran1 through the use of   

fake social media accounts and bot      
networks to amplify content4  7#g7      
,understanding the financial incentives 
for entities spreading and amplifying   
disinformation and misinformation can   
help to combat its distribution4  #c4   
,science study on ,,covid-#ai-related   
disinformation and misinformation  7a7  
,study ,not later than #cj days after   
the date of enactment of this ,act1 the 
,director of the ,national ,science     
,foundation shall enter into an         
arrangement with the ,national          
,academies of ,sciences1 ,engineering1  
and ,medicine to conduct a study on the 
current understanding of the spread of  
,,covid-#ai-related disinformation and  
misinformation on the internet and      
social media platforms4 ,the study shall
 address-- 7#a7 the roles disinformation
 and misinformation have played in the  
public response to ,,covid-#ai1         
including public acceptance of and      
demand for ,,covid-#ai vaccines2  7#b7  
the sources1 both foreign and domestic1 

of ,,covid-#ai-related disinformation   
and misinformation1 and the mechanisms  
by which that disinformation and        
misinformation influence the public     
debate2  7#c7 the role social media     
plays in the dissemination and promotion
 of ,,covid-#ai-related disinformation  
and misinformation content and the role 
social media platforms play in the      
organization of groups seeking to spread
 ,,covid-#ai-related disinformation and 
misinformation2  7#d7 the potential     
financial returns for creators or       
distributors of ,,covid-#ai-related     
disinformation and misinformation and   
the role such financial incentives play 
in the propagation of                   
,,covid-#ai-related disinformation and  
misinformation2  7#e7 potential         
strategies to mitigate the dissemination
 and negative impacts of                
,,covid-#ai-related disinformation and  
misinformation 7and specifically the    
dissemination of disinformation and     
misinformation on social media71        

including through improved disclosures  
and addressing information literacy2 and
  7#f7 an analysis of-- 7,a7 the        
limitations of the mitigation strategies
 described in paragraph 7#e72 and  7,b7 
how the strategies can be implemented   
without infringing on the constitutional
 rights and civil liberties of the      
people of the ,united ,states4  7b7     
,report ,in entering into an arrangement
 under this section1 the ,director of   
the ,national ,science ,foundation shall
 request that the ,national ,academies  
of ,sciences1 ,engineering1 and         
,medicine transmit to ,congress a report
 on the results of the study not later  
than #a year after the date of enactment
 of this ,act4  7c7 ,authorization      
,there is authorized to be appropriated1
 for the purposes of conducting the     
study under this section1 #a1jjj1jjj4