President Joe Biden said social media platforms like Facebook are killing people by allowing the spread of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation. Recently Biden clarified his criticism on Facebook.
Mr. Biden said he didn’t blame Facebook, “Facebook isn’t killing people. These 12 people are out there giving misinformation. Anyone listening to it is getting hurt by it. It’s killing people. It’s bad information.” Biden told reporters at the White House. He added, “My hope is that Facebook, instead of taking it personally—that somehow I’m saying Facebook is killing people—that they would do something about the misinformation, the outrageous information about the vaccine.”
Mr. Biden also said that he hasn’t seen any indication that Facebook is doing to satisfy his concerns about COVID-19 and vaccines. Facebook declined to comment on President Biden’s criticism. But Facebook had taken steps against 12 people who spread false information and even others for violating the rules regarding vaccine misinformation by removing pages, accounts, and groups.
Facebook spokesperson Dani Lever responded to Biden’s comment by stating that the company will not be distracted by accusations that aren’t supported by facts. She said that more than 2 million people have visited authoritative information about COVID-19 and vaccines through Facebook and nearly 3.3 million Americans have used our vaccine finder tool to find out the place and how to get a vaccine.
The White House secretary Jen Psaki later told reporters that “We’re not in a war or a battle with Facebook. We’re in a battle with the virus.”
