Facebook Responds to Biden’s Claim That It’s ‘Killing People’ by Allowing Covid-19 Misinformation on the Platform

Michael LucianoJul 16th, 2021, 6:07 pm
 
Mark Zuckerberg

Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images

Facebook has responded to President Joe Biden’s remark that the social media is “killing people” by failing to adequately address the spreading of misinformation about Covid-19 and vaccines on its platform.

On Friday, NBC’s Peter Alexander asked the president, “On Covid misinformation, what’s your message to platforms like Facebook?”

Biden responded, “They’re killing people. I mean, they really-look. The only pandemic we have is among [the] unvaccinated. And they’re killing people.

Soon thereafter, NBC’s Dylan Byers obtained a response to Biden’s comments from a Facebook spokesperson:

We will not be distracted by accusations which aren’t supported by the facts. The fact is that more than 2 billion people have viewed authoritative information about COVID-19 and vaccines on Facebook, which is more than any other place on the internet. More than 3.3 million Americans have also used our vaccine finder tool to find out where and how to get a vaccine. The facts show that Facebook is helping save lives. Period.

The spat between the White House and Facebook comes a day after White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters during the daily briefing that the Biden administration is in “regular touch with the social media platforms,” and has been “flagging” posts that contain misinformation about matters related to Covid-19.

That disclosure has drawn considerable backlash among conservatives, who have long alleged that Facebook often censors them for their political beliefs.

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Michael Luciano - Senior Editor

Mike is a Mediaite senior editor who covers the news in primetime. Follow him on Bluesky.