- US President Joe Biden said that platforms like Facebook “kill people” by spreading vaccine misinformation.
- He said: “Our only epidemic is people who have not been vaccinated. They are killing people.”
- “The facts show that Facebook is helping to save lives. In the meantime,” a Facebook spokesperson told Insider.
- View more stories on Business Insider SA’s homepage.
US President Joe Biden said on Friday that platforms like Facebook are “killing” because Covid-19 vaccine misinformation is spreading on these platforms, and infection rates in many areas of the United States are rising.
“What do you want to say about platforms such as Facebook?” NBC’s Peter Alexander asked when the president left the White House for Camp David.
“They are killing people,” Biden said. “Our only epidemic is people who have not been vaccinated. They are killing people.”
“We will not be distracted by allegations that are not supported by facts,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement to Insider. “The truth is that more than 2 billion people viewed authoritative information about Covid-19 and vaccines on Facebook, more than any other place on the Internet. More than 3.3 million Americans also use our vaccine finder tool to find locations and How to get a vaccine.”
The spokesperson added: “The facts show that Facebook is helping to save lives. Period.”
Biden’s words echoed the words of Dr. Rochelle Varensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who stated earlier on Friday that Covid-19 is “Become an unvaccinated epidemic.”
Varensky said: “We have seen outbreaks in parts of the country where vaccination coverage is low, because people who have not been vaccinated are at risk.”
She added that 97% of COVID-19 hospitalized patients were not vaccinated.
“Health misinformation poses a serious threat to public health,” Murthy said. “It can cause confusion, spread mistrust, damage people’s health, and undermine public health. Limiting the spread of health misinformation is a moral and civic priority.”
