Joe Biden Slams Social Media: US President Joe Biden has said that social media companies are ‘taking lives’ by failing to stop the spread of misinformation on their platforms about the anti-Covid-19 vaccine. Biden’s comments came a day after US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called misinformation about the vaccine a public health threat. US officials advised that these vaccines can almost completely prevent death and serious illness from the virus.
Asked if he has any messages for forums like Facebook where false or misleading information is spreading about the coronavirus vaccine, Biden said, “They are killing people.” He said, ‘We have an epidemic here only among those who have not got the vaccine.’ Murthy had said on Thursday that misinformation about COVID-19 is deadly (Misinformation About Vaccines). The World Health Organization has described it as ‘excessive information about a problem that is usually unreliable, spreads rapidly and makes it more difficult to arrive at a solution’.
Misinformation puts people at risk
He said in the White House, ‘Misinformation poses a fatal threat to the health of our country. We as a country must fight misinformation. Lives rely on it. Referring to the role of the Internet in spreading misinformation on health, Murthy said technology companies and social media platforms should make meaningful changes to their products and software to prevent the spread of misinformation.
Facebook spokesperson replied
Meanwhile, Facebook spokesperson Denny Lever responded, “We will not deviate from allegations that are not based on facts.” The fact is that more than two billion people have seen authentic information on COVID-19 and vaccines on Facebook, more than any other platform on the Internet. Lever said, ‘More than 3.3 million people of America used our vaccine tool that gave information about where and how to get vaccinated. Facts show Facebook is helping to save lives. Twitter wrote on its platform, ‘We will continue our work to increase authentic health information amid the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic around the world.’
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