Critics slam White House after Psaki revealed she took to Facebook to ‘report misinformation’

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Media headlines July 15

Lincoln Project member claiming failure to pass MPs’ vote bills will lead to another 9/11, with BBC reporter getting fired after sending ‘Hitler was right’ tweet, and founder of a liberal news site saying the right to own guns is ‘done’ round out today’s media headlines

Critics strongly condemned the White House after Press Secretary Jen Psaki revealed that the Biden administration was working with Facebook to report “problematic” posts that “spread disinformation” about COVID-19.

On Thursday, Psaki was asked a question regarding the Biden administration’s demand that tech companies be more “aggressive” when controlling what they call “disinformation.” Psaki revealed that the White House is “in regular contact with social media platforms” to handle it.

“We are in regular contact with social media platforms and these engagements usually occur through members of our senior staff and also members of our COVID-19 team, as Dr Murthy said, he said. This is a big misinformation problem, especially about the pandemic, ”Psaki explained.

While referencing the teams’ actions, Psaki also revealed that they are “flagging” Facebook posts as part of their efforts.

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“Within the Surgeon General’s office, we report posts on Facebook that disseminate disinformation,” Psaki said. “We work with physicians and healthcare professionals to connect medical experts with people popular with their audiences with accurate information and build trust content. So we help distribute content you can trust. We also created the COVID Community Corps to put factual information in the hands of local messengers. “

Psaki’s comments were strongly rebuffed online, with some calling the actions a First Amendment violation.

Psaki says the White House has reported problematic Facebook posts that they believe to be disinformation about the Wuhan coronavirus. Recall: Fauci has worked with Facebook to ban the lab leak theory, which is factual, for more a year, “said Katie Pavlich, Fox News contributor. mentionned.

Dan Gainor of the Media Research Center, said the anti-vaccine people were part of free speech and that Psaki was “against freedom.”

Freelance journalist Glenn Greenwald wrote a lengthy Twitter thread condemning Psaski’s revelation.

“If you don’t find it deeply troubling that the White House is flagging Internet content it deems problematic to its Facebook allies for removal, then you are by definition [sic] an authoritarian. No other information is needed about you to find out, “he wrote.

Psaki’s comments follow a recent Politico report that detailed the Biden administration’s plans to tackle disinformation about COVID-19. The report’s methods included “direct appeal to social media platforms and conservative news broadcasts that promote such tactics,” as well as addressing SMS operators and text messages.

Biden’s allied groups, including the Democratic National Committee, also plan to engage fact-checkers more aggressively and work with SMS carriers to dispel misinformation about vaccines that is being sent on social media and text messages, ”Politico reported.

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Psaki later defended the actions of the Biden administration, saying Facebook needs to “act faster” to deal with “harmful” posts.

“It is important to take faster action against harmful publications. As you all know, information travels quite quickly on social media platforms. Sometimes they’re not accurate, and Facebook needs to act faster to remove damaging posts. for removal often remain in place for days. It is too long. Information spreads too quickly, ”she said.

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