Biden: Social media “kills” with COVID misinformation | Coronavirus pandemic news

Biden: Social media “kills” with COVID misinformation | Coronavirus pandemic news

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Misinformation about viruses and vaccines has spread on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

President Joe Biden (Joe Biden) said that social media companies have failed to monitor misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine on their platforms and are “killing”.

Biden’s comments were made a day later by the American surgeon Vivek Murthy Announce wrong information Regarding the threat of vaccines to public health, as suggested by US officials, deaths and serious diseases caused by the virus are almost completely preventable due to the existence of vaccines.

When asked if there is information about platforms such as Facebook, Biden spread false or misleading information about the coronavirus vaccine on these platforms. He told reporters on Friday: “They are killing people.”

“Our only epidemic is people who have not been vaccinated,” he said.

Murthy said in a speech on Thursday that misinformation about COVID-19 is fatal and is considered an “information epidemic” by the World Health Organization (WHO).

“Misinformation poses an imminent potential threat to our country’s health,” Morty said in a speech at the White House on Thursday. “As a country, we must face misinformation. Life depends on it.”

The day before President Joe Biden’s comments, U.S. surgeon Vivic Murty announced that misinformation about vaccines poses a threat to public health [Tom Brenner/Reuters]

Given the role of the Internet in disseminating health misinformation, Murthy stated that technology companies and social media platforms must make meaningful changes to their products and software to reduce the spread of false information while increasing access to authoritative, fact-based sources.

He said that these platforms are often built in a way that encourages rather than resists the spread of misinformation.

“We ask them to step up their efforts,” Murthy said. “We can’t wait for them to take positive action.”

Facebook spokesperson Dani Lever responded: “We will not be distracted by allegations that are not supported by facts. The fact is that more than 2 billion people have viewed authoritative information on COVID-19 and vaccines on Facebook, which is more There are many other places. More than 3.3 million Americans also use our vaccine finder tool to find where and how to get a vaccine. The facts show that Facebook is helping to save lives. Period.”

Twitter posted on its platform: “As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves around the world, we will continue to do our part to improve authoritative health information.”

U.S. officials said on Friday that the delta change of the coronavirus is reflected in the major strains of the virus worldwide, and that with the surge in deaths across the United States, it is almost entirely unvaccinated people.

The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States has increased by 70% compared to the previous week, and the number of deaths has increased by 26%. It broke out in areas with low vaccination rates in the country.

Earlier Friday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also criticized Facebook.

“Obviously, they have taken some steps. They are a private company,” Psaki said at the White House briefing. “They can take other steps. Obviously, there are more steps they can take.”

On Thursday, she said that the Biden administration maintains regular contact with Facebook and flags questionable posts.

Psaki said that 12 people are responsible for nearly 65% ??of anti-vaccine misinformation on social media platforms. The non-profit anti-digital hatred centers in Washington and London reported the findings in May, but Facebook disputed the approach.



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