"Not In Battle With Facebook": Joe Biden Step Back On Covid Remark
US President Joe Biden had earlier said that social media misinformation about Covid-19 and vaccinations is "killing people".
US President Joe Biden on Monday toned down his comments about Facebook after accusing it of "killing people" by not stopping Covid vaccine misinformation, but he still urged the world's largest social network to do more.
"We are not in a war or in a battle with Facebook, we are in a battle with the virus," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.
Her remarks followed the president's own comments essentially walking back his blunt outburst from Friday.
"Facebook isn't killing people," Biden stressed in response to a reporter asking about the flap.
Biden added that he had learned a dozen people were largely responsible for disseminating false news about the vaccines.
"These 12 people who are out there giving misinformation -- anyone listening to it is getting hurt by it. It's killing people. It's bad information," Biden said.
"My hope is that Facebook, instead of taking it personally -- that somehow I'm saying Facebook is killing people -- that they would do something about the misinformation, the outrageous misinformation about the vaccine," he said.
"That's what I meant."
Biden had delivered an unusually harsh rebuke last week when he assailed Facebook's handling of widely spread misinformation about vaccinations and said "this is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated."
His administration piled on, urging the company to react more quickly in taking down problematic posts.
Facebook, which has contracted outside fact checkers in an effort to clean up its content, quickly fired back at the White House on Friday, with a company spokesperson saying "the facts show that Facebook is helping save lives. Period."
Concerned that the US vaccination campaign is bogged down just as the dangerous Delta variant is causing an surge in new infections, the White House last week notably toughened its tone against tech giants, calling on them to boost the fight against misinformation.
"We are not in a war or in a battle with Facebook, we are in a battle with the virus," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.
Her remarks followed the president's own comments essentially walking back his blunt outburst from Friday.
"Facebook isn't killing people," Biden stressed in response to a reporter asking about the flap.
Biden added that he had learned a dozen people were largely responsible for disseminating false news about the vaccines.
"These 12 people who are out there giving misinformation -- anyone listening to it is getting hurt by it. It's killing people. It's bad information," Biden said.
"My hope is that Facebook, instead of taking it personally -- that somehow I'm saying Facebook is killing people -- that they would do something about the misinformation, the outrageous misinformation about the vaccine," he said.
"That's what I meant."
Biden had delivered an unusually harsh rebuke last week when he assailed Facebook's handling of widely spread misinformation about vaccinations and said "this is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated."
His administration piled on, urging the company to react more quickly in taking down problematic posts.
Facebook, which has contracted outside fact checkers in an effort to clean up its content, quickly fired back at the White House on Friday, with a company spokesperson saying "the facts show that Facebook is helping save lives. Period."
Concerned that the US vaccination campaign is bogged down just as the dangerous Delta variant is causing an surge in new infections, the White House last week notably toughened its tone against tech giants, calling on them to boost the fight against misinformation.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
