Facebook has rejected blame for the Biden administration's failure to achieve its goal of vaccinating 70% of Americans by July 4, responding to President Joe Biden's comments that social media networks are spreading misinformation about vaccines. Biden accused social media platforms on Friday of "killing people" by allowing misleading information about COVID-19 vaccines to spread, stating that "the pandemic is only among the unvaccinated," in response to a question about what message he wants to send to tech companies.
**Facebook's Defense**
In response to the comments, Facebook stated that the administration's assertions "are not supported by facts." The company defended itself by conducting a survey of customers and taking other actions, the results of which were highlighted in a blog post by Guy Rosen, Vice President of Integrity at Facebook, on Saturday. Rosen indicated that 85% of American users have been vaccinated or want to get vaccinated, and that Facebook's efforts have led to a 50% reduction in vaccine hesitancy, according to him.
Rosen stated, "As COVID-19 cases rise in the U.S., the Biden administration chose to blame a handful of American social media companies. Facebook is not the reason this goal was not met."
**Efforts from the Social Media Giant**
Previously, Facebook stated that it has removed millions of posts from its main product and the photo-sharing app, Instagram, for violating its policies, and it has intensified enforcement against repeat offenders. However, the White House did not clearly believe that this was a sufficient response to what they deemed a "matter of life or death," according to the U.S. administration.
Detailing Facebook's actions, Rosen noted that over 18 million instances of misinformation about COVID-19 have been removed since the pandemic began, and the company has also labeled and downranked more than 167 million pieces of content after they were flagged by its fact-checkers.
Since the start of the pandemic, vaccine skeptics have taken to social media platforms to question scientific theories by sharing stories and posts on Facebook and Instagram. Algorithms rewarded content that triggered strong emotional reactions, further amplifying misinformation ranging from vaccine toxicity to infertility risks.
Due to this, social media influencers with large followings managed to generate skepticism about COVID-19 vaccines for a full year before Facebook took significant action. They leveraged public confusion and mixed messages from health officials and government regarding everything from masks to side effects of the vaccine and safety. At that time, Facebook adopted an official stance of not banning posts unless they posed "imminent harm," indicating that misleading content regarding the vaccine had persisted for months since the initiation of global vaccination campaigns.
**Vaccination Rates**
As of now, only 55% of Americans have received one vaccine dose, and the rate has declined despite the White House's efforts to encourage more people to get vaccinated, while countries like Britain and Canada have accelerated their vaccination efforts. Rosen stated, "We have used similar tactics in Britain and Canada, where usage rates on Facebook are comparable to those in the U.S. Both countries have achieved vaccination rates over 70% for eligible populations, all of which suggests that the situation in the U.S. involves more than just Facebook."
**Twitter's Response**
Meanwhile, Twitter took a different approach in its response, stating in a tweet: "We will continue to do our part to elevate credible health information as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves worldwide." The tweet read: "We agree with @Surgeon_General that combating misinformation about health information requires a community-wide approach. Thank you for your leadership. We will continue to do our part to elevate credible health information as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves worldwide."