Facebook
vs Biden: Facebook Won't Take Blame for Missed COVID Vaccination Target, Spread
of Misinformation
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| Facebook Vs Biden: Facebook Won't Take Blame For Missed Covid Vaccination Target, Spread Of Missinformtaion |
Facebook has pushed back against U.S. President Joe Biden's comments regarding social media's role in the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination efforts.
Last week, President Biden
made a comment regarding social media networks "killing people"
thanks to the spread of misinformation that has caused vaccine hesitancy among
certain people.
In its pushback against
Biden's claims posted on its website, Facebook cited
data that shows "85% of Facebook users in the US have been or want to be
vaccinated against COVID-19."
"President Biden's goal
was for 70% of Americans to be vaccinated by July 4. Facebook is not the reason
this goal was missed," the post reads.
Facebook
Refutes Biden's Claims with Data
Facebook's pushback, which
comes in the form of the post written by the company's VP of Integrity Guy
Rosen, the social media giant presented even more data to deny Biden's
accusations.
According to Rosen, COVID-19
vaccine acceptance among Facebook users has increased from 70% to somewhere
between 80-85%. He also said that Facebook applied similar tactics regarding
vaccine acceptance to users in the U.K. and Canada and both countries have
"achieved more than 70% vaccination of eligible populations."
"This all suggests
there's more than Facebook to the outcome in the US," according to
Rosen.
Rosen also mentioned that
3.3. Million Americans have utilized the vaccine finder tool to make
vaccination appointments and to locate where vaccination sites are.
Facebook's
Other Efforts to Help People Get Vaccinated Against COVID
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| Facebook's Other Efforts to Help People Get Vaccinated Against Covid |
Image by fernando zhiminaicela from Pixabay
As far as President Biden's allegations of spreading misinformation regarding vaccines are concerned, Rosen says that Facebook has already removed more than 18 million instances of COVID-19 misinformation.
The social media giant also
has a network of "fact-checking partners" that helps it debunk,
label, and reduce COVID-19 content that may contain misinformation.
Rosen also highlighted that
Facebook has made efforts to encourage more people to get vaccinated by
expanding its vaccine pop-up clinics so that more low-income and underserved
communities can be reached.
Biden
Says COVID Misinformation on Social Media is 'Killing People'
Biden Says Covid Misinformation on Social Media is ' Killing People'
Image by heblo from Pixabay
President
Joe Biden speaks during an event on COVID-19 response and the vaccination
program at the South Court Auditorium of Eisenhower Executive Office Building
July 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. President Biden encouraged more Americans to
get vaccinated after falling short of his July 4th deadline for 70 percent of
adults to have received at least one vaccination shot.
Facebook's pushback comes
after President Biden claimed that COVID-19 misinformation being
spread on social media is "killing people."
"The only pandemic we
have is among the unvaccinated," Biden is quoted to have said in a Bloomberg report.
In a tweet posted Friday,
White House Digital Director Robert Flaherty said
"I guess I'm left with a simple question: How many people have seen COVID
vaccine misinformation on Facebook?" The question came with a retweet of
Facebook's response to Biden's comments.
President Biden previously
admitted that the government failed to reach its goal of vaccinating 70% of the
population by July 4. The government has continuously encouraged its citizens
to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19, especially as the Delta variant
continues to spread. The Delta variant has caused a rise in cases in the
country.