Conspiracies thrive in the US, Biden warns: ‘The rest of the world is wondering about us’

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Biden, speaking at CNN Town Hall in Ohio, said the United States should “get past this” moment after pointing to the QAnon conspiracy theory, the role of misinformation in sowing divisiveness and unfounded fears of a Covid-19 vaccine.

“What do you say to your grandchildren or your children about what’s going on? Do you remember a day like this before in all of history, whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican? That’s not who we are,” the president said. .

“And I’ll say one last thing: You’ll be — I have a lot of experience internationally and — I mean, it’s not good or bad, I just have — I’ve chaired the Foreign Relations Committee, and I’ve been deeply involved. I’ve done national security for the last time — running with Barack (Obama). But people, the rest of the world are wondering about us. Those of you who have traveled abroad – this is no joke.”

Biden’s comments come as the White House has taken a confrontational stance with social media platforms over the spread of misleading claims, particularly regarding coronavirus vaccines while cases are rising nationwide.

US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy warned last week that misinformation posed a “serious threat to public health,” and the administration directly summoned social media giant Facebook, accusing it of not doing enough to stop the spread of false information on its platform. .

And while Biden on Monday retracted his accusation that Facebook is “killing people” by allowing disinformation to spread, he emphasized that the platform needed to do more to stop conspiracies from thriving.

“My hope is that Facebook, instead of taking it personally, is somehow saying that Facebook is killing people, and that they are going to do something about misinformation, and egregious disinformation about a vaccine. That’s what I meant,” the president said afterwards in a White House speech on the state of the economy.

However, Biden added Wednesday night that he is maintaining his “faith in the American people” in order to “finally get to the right place.”

He said democracy “must stand up and prove that it can get something done”.

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