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What has Biden said about misinformation on social media regarding the covid vaccine?

Facebook has come under criticism from Biden for allowing misinformation about coronavirus vaccines to be posted on the popular social media platform.

Update:
U.S. President Joe Biden waves as he walks to the Marine One helicopter to depart for a weekend visit to Camp David from the White House in Washington, U.S., July 16, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
JONATHAN ERNSTREUTERS

US President Joe Biden on Friday said social media platforms such as Facebook "are killing people" after the White House continued criticizing the company for allowing misinformation about coronavirus vaccines to be posted on its platform.

"They’re killing people. Look, the only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated. And they’re killing people," Biden told reporters when asked about misinformation and what his message was to social media platforms such as Facebook.

'Steps need to be taken'

White House press secretary Jen Psaki earlier on Friday also criticized the company.

"Obviously there are steps they have taken. They're a private sector company. There are additional steps they can take. It's clear that there are more that can be taken," she said at a White House briefing.

Facebook, which owns Instagram and WhatsApp, needs to work harder to remove inaccurate vaccine information from its platform, Psaki said.

16 July 2021, US, Washington: White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a press conference in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House.
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16 July 2021, US, Washington: White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a press conference in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House.DPA vía Europa Press

She said 12 people were responsible for almost 65% of anti-vaccine misinformation on social media platforms. The finding was reported in May by the Center for Countering Digital Hate but Facebook has disputed the methodology.

"All of them remain active on Facebook," Psaki said. Facebook also "needs to move more quickly to remove harmful violative posts," she said.

Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.