Biden Urgently Retracts "Facebook Kills People" Shooting Remark

"Don't Take It Emotionally"... Take a Step Back

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] U.S. President Joe Biden hastily backtracked and softened his stance after accusing Facebook of spreading false information related to COVID-19.

According to the U.S. political media outlet The Hill, on the 19th (local time), President Biden referred to a study by the nonprofit organization 'Center for Countering Digital Hate,' which stated that 12 Facebook accounts were responsible for the majority of vaccine misinformation, in response to related questions from the press at the White House.

He said, "Facebook is not killing people," adding, "These 12 individuals are spreading false information." He continued, "Anyone who sees it is being harmed, and it is killing people. That is bad information."

He further explained, "Don't take my statement that Facebook is killing people emotionally; I want them to do something about the ridiculous misinformation about vaccines. That is what I meant."

However, when asked whether he believed Facebook had done enough to curb misinformation, he replied that until a few days ago, he did not think so, but he was not sure.

Regarding whether social media platforms like Facebook could be held accountable, he said, "People are trying to reflect on themselves," adding, "Look in the mirror. Think about the misinformation being passed on to your sons and daughters. That is all I hope for."

On the 16th, when asked about his stance on Facebook and others being channels for spreading vaccine misinformation, he harshly criticized the platforms, saying, "They are killing people," as infections spread among the unvaccinated.

Earlier, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also pressured Facebook during a regular briefing, stating that Facebook was responsible for the spread of false information about COVID-19 vaccines and that "Facebook needs to move faster to remove harmful posts."

In response to these accusations, Facebook pushed back, blaming the government for falling short of the goal to raise the COVID-19 vaccination rate among U.S. adults to 70%, which intensified the controversy.

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