Facebook takes issue with the White House’s version that the social media platform is “killing people.” The White House is looking for scapegoats for failing to meet its vaccination goals,” a Facebook spokesperson said.
Facebook responds sharply to Biden’s accusation that the platform is ‘killing people’
“The fact is that more than 2 billion people have seen credible information about COVID-19 and vaccines on Facebook, which is more than anywhere else on the Internet,” the spokesperson said.
FACEBOOK: “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.” … (1/2)
— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) July 16, 2021
“More than 3.3 million Americans have also used our vaccine search tool to find where and how to get the vaccine. The facts show that Facebook is helping to save lives,” he continued.
On Friday, President Biden accused Facebook of “killing people” through misinformation about coronavirus vaccines shared on the website, saying, “The only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated and they are killing people.”
“The rebuttals come after Facebook press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday that the Biden administration has been “flagging” content for Facebook to remove.
“We are flagging problematic posts for Facebook that spread misinformation. We are working with doctors and medical experts who are popular with their audience with accurate information,” he said.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, during Thursday’s briefing, said misinformation is a threat to public health.
Since January 2020, Facebook’s third-party fact-checking team has been working with health professionals around the world to review and debunk false claims about the virus.
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