Biden says Facebook and others “killed” by spreading COVID misinformation Reuters

Authors: Nandita Bose and Elizabeth Culliford

WASHINGTON (Reuters)-US President Joe Biden said on Friday that as the government continues to criticize the company, social media platforms such as Facebook are “killing” because it allows misinformation about the coronavirus vaccine to be posted on its platforms.

“They are killing people…Look, our only epidemic is people who have not been vaccinated. They are killing people,” Biden was at the White House when asked about the misinformation and his message to social media platforms. Tell reporters like Facebook (Nasdaq:).

COVID-19 misinformation proliferated during the pandemic on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Alphabet (NASDAQ:) Inc’s YouTube. For a long time, researchers and lawmakers have accused Facebook of failing to monitor harmful content on its platform.

The company has established rules that prohibit specific false claims about COVID-19 and its vaccine, and stated that it provides people with reliable information on these topics.

Facebook spokesperson Kevin McAlister said on Friday: “We will not be distracted by allegations that are not supported by facts. In fact, more than 2 billion people have viewed COVID- 19 There are more authoritative information on vaccines and vaccines than anywhere else on the Internet.

“More than 3.3 million Americans also use our vaccine finder tool to find where and how to get the vaccine. The facts show that Facebook is helping to save lives. Period,” he said.

Twitter and YouTube did not respond to requests for comment.

U.S. officials said on Friday that the delta change of the coronavirus is reflected in the major strains of the virus worldwide, and that with the surge in deaths across the United States, it is almost entirely unvaccinated.

The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/countries-and-territories/united-states has increased by 70% from the previous week, and the number of deaths has increased by 26%. Epidemics broke out in areas with low vaccination rates in the country.

Earlier Friday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also criticized Facebook.

“Obviously, they have taken some steps. They are a private company,” Psaki said at the White House briefing. “They can take other steps. Obviously, there are more steps they can take.”

On Thursday, she said https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-surgeon-general-warns-over-covid-19-misinformation-2021-07-15 The Biden government and Facebook are flagging problems s post.

Psaki said that 12 people are responsible for nearly 65% ​​of anti-vaccine misinformation on social media platforms. The non-profit anti-digital hatred centers in Washington and London reported the findings in May, but Facebook disputed the approach.

US surgeon Vivek Murthy also warned about the increasing number of misinformation about COVID-19 and related vaccines. On Thursday, he said this makes it more difficult to fight the pandemic and save lives.