Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer asked Facebook to stop disinformation, hatred and violent rhetoric from putting officials at risk and undermining the security of the 2020 election.

Whitmer asked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to “do the right thing” and prevent the spread of hateful speech, referencing vile remarks found in a recently-deleted group that targeted the Democratic governor and other female politicians. The Democratic governor drew a parallel between General Motors’ decision to aid in the American war production effort in the 1940s and Facebook’s responsibility to do what’s best for the country.

“Mr. Zuckerberg, this country has been good to you, and history is knocking on your proverbial door,” Whitmer wrote in a Jan. 15 letter. “Are you prepared to rise to the occasion, as (GM Chairman William) Knudsen did, to protect our democracy from ongoing attacks? For the safety and security of many, may your only answer be, ‘yes.’”

Facebook has been under increasing scrutiny for not doing enough to prevent bad actors and foreign governments from spreading false information to users in 2020 battleground states like Michigan.

Whitmer cited congressional hearings Zuckerberg participated in last year, saying “though you have testified that protecting the Facebook community is more important than maximizing your profits, the reality is that your company has been able to monetize hate speech and its related violence that tears apart at the fabric of our society.”

Whitmer has also spoken with state lawmakers.

She told reporters ahead of a speech at Saginaw Valley State University on Friday the Facebook group inspired a conversation with legislative leaders earlier this week. In that conversation, she "raised the issue of how violent rhetoric is doing such a disservice and is so dangerous."

“Every one of us who has a platform, every one of us has a responsibility to take it on and not just not to take part in it, but to call people out and hold people accountable and hold people to a higher standard,” Whitmer said.

Whitmer was the target of violent and sexist threats posted on a Facebook group that was shut down this month after being exposed in a story by the Metro Times. The public group, “People vs Gov. Gretchen Whitmer,” attracted nearly 9,000 followers, the Metro Times reported, including some conservative state lawmakers and congressional candidates.

One user suggested U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, “should be burned and raped,” the Metro Times reported. Another wrote that U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, “needs a bullet between her eyes.”

“As a lawyer who respects the First Amendment right to freedom of speech and expression, I realize there is only so much purview social media platforms have for the content posted by their users,” Whitmer wrote. “However, better enforcement of Facebook’s own community standards ... this election cycle is needed now more than ever.”

Slotkin said she has received an outpouring of support after the Metro Times story was published on Jan. 10.

“I don’t know how someone can hear that news and some of the extremely personal and violent threats against me and feel anything other than disappointment, shame and sadness,” Slotkin said. “I’ve done three tours in Iraq and run for duck and cover bunkers when rockets are coming in. I consider myself a pretty tough person, but I don’t think anyone likes reading that stuff about themselves."

Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites faced increasing scrutiny after Congress determined Russia used those platforms to propagate misinformation and political division during the 2016 presidential campaign. The debate is heating up as big tech companies become political targets for Democrats running in 2020.

Democratic primary candidates are particularly worried about Facebook’s policy to accept paid political ads without fact-checking them. Republicans are concerned tech companies are politically biased to favor Democrats and block conservative-leaning content.

Facebook removed more than 100 fake accounts in October 2019. The accounts were designed to look like political advocacy groups in swing states but originated in Iran and Russia, the company stated in an Oct. 21 release.

MLive Lead Reporter Emily Lawler also contributed to this story.

Read more about disinformation on MLive:

Social media disinformation appears in Michigan before 2020 election

Michigan was key target of Russian election meddling, Slotkin says

News websites with political ties spread across Michigan before 2020 election