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| Facebook clashes with the US government over a vaccine for the Corona virus |
The Facebook platform appears to be in conflict with the US government again, this time due to its role in spreading misinformation about the coronavirus vaccine as it is seen as a major obstacle to state adoption.
When US President Joe Biden was asked about misinformation about the vaccine on Facebook, he said: It is killing people by spreading vaccine conspiracy theories.
Before Biden's comment, the White House also said he is in regular contact with social media platforms to ensure he is up to date with the latest reports on public health risks.
In response to Biden's remarks, Facebook launched an attack and his spokesperson said, "We will not be distracted by allegations that are not supported by facts."
Then Facebook provided an official response in a blog post saying that the Biden government had blamed a small number of American social media companies for the rise in new coronavirus cases in the United States.
She added: "Social media plays an important role in society and it is clear that we need a comprehensive community approach to end this pandemic. The use of vaccines by Facebook users has increased in the US. These and other facts tell a very different story from the latest government grant."
This article goes on to highlight several studies that show that Facebook's efforts to overcome vaccine reluctance are effective and that its users are less resistant to vaccine efforts, contrary to Biden's statement.
This is in line with Facebook's broader stance recently. According to academic research, there is no clear link between the growing reluctance to use vaccines and sharing on Facebook.
Facebook rejected the US President's statement
Over the past few months, the company has taken a more proactive approach to disproving these ideas by making clear that misleading content is harmful to business.
According to Facebook, all social media platforms reflect what is going on in society and what people think at any given time. This includes the good, the bad and the ugly. A few weeks before the World Cup, contributions to football are piling up. It's because people think this way, not because our algorithm shows people football.
The company's vice president of global affairs took a similar view in March, saying that newsfeeds are interactions between people and the platform, which means the platform itself cannot take full responsibility.
"The goal is to make sure you see what you think is most important," he said. You can think of this type as a spam filter in your inbox. This allows you to filter out content that you think does not make sense and prioritize the content you want.
The Company minimizes the spread of misleading content. It downplays misleading and exaggerated headlines and health claims promoting miracle cures. Except for posts that are expressly intended to encourage users to interact.
Despite these claims, and reliance on scholarly articles and internal research, the greater evidence does not support Facebook's position.