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| Joe Biden |
Joe Biden blames people for the majority of vaccine misinformation online, pleads Mark Zuckerberg to 'do something to combat coronavirus vaccine misinformation.
Joe Biden insisted on Monday that Facebook was "not killing people" and instead blamed them for allowing 12 people to spread the majority of vaccine misinformation online in a retraction from remarks he made to reporters Friday.
Biden also emphasized, "We are not in a battle with Facebook."
Last week, when Biden was asked if he had a Facebook message, he replied, "They're killing people. I mean it. Look, the only epidemic we have is among the unvaccinated. And they're killing people."
Facebook dismissed this in a statement on Saturday, criticizing the administration for "blaming a handful of U.S. social media companies" for the low vaccination rate.
"While social media plays a significant role in society, it is clear that we need a whole community approach to end this pandemic," Facebook Vice President of Integrity, Jay Rosen, wrote in a company blog post.
The White House's top public health official also said Sunday morning that Facebook is "costing" American lives by not fighting misinformation.
President Joe Biden made a drastic shift Monday by saying that "Facebook is not killing people" and pleading with CEO Mark Zuckerberg "rather than taking it personally...do something" to combat misinformation surrounding a coronavirus vaccine.
U.S. vaccination rates have fallen sharply since the vaccine was opened to all adults earlier this year. Minorities and poor communities and southern states, and more republican areas are experiencing increasing reluctance about a COVID-19 vaccine.
We know that false health information harms people's health. It costs them their lives; Surgeon General Vivek Murthy told CNN. "I've seen it as a physician over the years, patients with misinformation."
Platforms should realize that they have played a significant role in increasing the speed and volume of misinformation.
Murthy's defended the Facebook platform on Saturday when President Biden accused misinformation on social media of "killing people."
On Thursday, Murthy also issued a warning calling health disinformation an "urgent threat." Provide a 22-page brochure on "Facing Health Information."
The blame skew also comes after the administration missed Biden's July 4 deadline to give one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to nearly 70 % of American adults -- and 160 million were fully vaccinated by the middle of the summer vacation.
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