White House Pressured Facebook to Remove Covid-19 Vaccine Misinformation
  • 9 months ago
Facebook removed Covid-19 content, including posts about the virus's origin, due to pressure from the Biden administration, aiming to control false vaccine information and address vaccine hesitancy. Internal communications showed Facebook executives discussing ways to manage user posts in response to the White House's concerns about spreading misleading information on the platform. The emails indicated Facebook executives faced a dilemma in deciding whether to remove content to curb vaccine hesitancy while preserving free speech and discussed their discomfort with some of the White House's requests and the potential consequences of taking specific actions. Despite some disagreements with the White House, Meta eventually changed its content policies, including increasing punishments for users who violated those policies on Facebook and Instagram.
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