Biden 'Impact on Vaccination Rate' vs Facebook 'Distortion of Facts'... Tensions Escalate

Foreign Media Seek Scapegoats for Falling Short of Vaccine Coverage Targets

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] The conflict between the Biden administration, which has been sharply critical over antitrust issues, and Facebook is escalating as it extends into a COVID-19 vaccine responsibility dispute, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

On the 18th (local time), the White House and Facebook exchanged heated arguments over the weekend regarding responsibility for COVID-19, heightening tensions, the report said.

The day before, Facebook posted a blog stating, "Facebook is not responsible for falling short of President Biden's public goal of raising the COVID-19 vaccination rate among American adults to 70% by July 4th (Independence Day)."

Facebook claimed, "In low-income and underserved communities, Americans are easily accessing vaccine information through pop-up vaccine clinics operated by Facebook," adding, "We are helping save American lives." It also noted that 85% of Facebook users have either been vaccinated against COVID-19 or hope to be vaccinated.

This was a direct response to President Biden's remarks the previous day, where he singled out Facebook as a channel spreading COVID-19 misinformation and said, "(They) are killing people."

President Biden and the White House sharply criticized Facebook for distributing false information related to vaccines, which they say affected vaccination rates.

On the same day, Vivek Murthy, head of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) and a member of the COVID-19 advisory panel, appeared on Fox News and criticized social media platforms for not adequately policing COVID-19 misinformation.

This followed White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki's remarks during a regular briefing, where she pointed out Facebook's responsibility for spreading false information about COVID-19 vaccines, increasing pressure day by day.

Psaki cited research from the nonprofit Digital Hate Response Center, which found that about 65% of vaccine-related misinformation on social media was produced by 12 anti-vaccine activists, saying, "They are all still active on Facebook," and urged, "Facebook must move faster to remove harmful posts."

In response, foreign media quoted an anonymous government official saying the Biden administration is looking for a scapegoat for its failure to meet vaccination rate goals.

The New York Times (NYT) reported, "The Biden administration's dissatisfaction with Facebook has been escalating over several months," citing sources that said the administration held private talks with Facebook requesting information sharing related to the spread of vaccine misinformation, but Facebook refused to cooperate.

The WSJ also reported that although President Biden and Facebook have maintained a frosty relationship due to antitrust investigations into big tech companies, tensions between the two sides are worsening due to the COVID-19 vaccine responsibility dispute.

It was also noted that this indicates a change in Facebook's stance, which had taken a defensive position on antitrust regulatory issues.

Doan Donovan, a researcher at Harvard University's Shorenstein Center studying media, politics, and public policy, said, "Facebook's immediate defense against misinformation shows that they are under internal pressure to clarify their position."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.