Joe Biden blames digital platforms like Facebook for low vaccination rates in the US

President of the United States Joe Biden has been criticizing platforms like Facebook for spreading misinformation about the coronavirus vaccine for some time now. Digital platforms are damaging the information environment with misinformation and bear little responsibility towards users. Those who intentionally spread such misinformation on digital platforms can have a direct impact on users.

As many as 67 percent of Americans are not vaccinated at all but believe in one of the many myths about the coronavirus vaccine, according to an April survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation. These myths include false claims that vaccines themselves cause Covid-19 or infertility, that vaccines can change DNA, that vaccination is expensive, and that those who have already had Covid-19 should not be vaccinated.

Biden believes that such platforms are ‘killing people’ and emphasizes that the only pandemic is among unvaccinated citizens. Facebook spokesperson Dani Lever responded to his statement.

– The company will not be distracted by accusations that are not backed by facts – Lever said in a statement to Forbes.

More than two billion people on Facebook have seen at least some information about COVID-19 and vaccines. Additionally, over 3.3 million Americans have used Facebook as a tool to find information on these topics. From one perspective, it could be said that Facebook is saving lives, given the amount of data it provides to its users.

Facebook has also taken steps to prevent the spread of misinformation about vaccines, including directing people to information from reliable sources, allocating advertising credits to public health agencies for sharing vaccine information, and prioritizing authoritative sources in its search tools.

Misinformation has long been a problem on Facebook and concerns federal officials and lawmakers, not only regarding the coronavirus but also issues like the 2020 election and climate change. The Biden administration condemns the spread of vaccine misinformation as vaccine hesitancy remains a major issue in the US, but also because the country has failed to meet Biden’s goal of having 70 percent of adults in the US receive at least one dose by July 4.

Furthermore, in 18 states, less than 50 percent of the population has been vaccinated with at least one dose, according to data from various centers for disease control and prevention. Public health officials are encouraging people to get vaccinated, especially due to the new Delta variant of the virus, which is now causing an increase in Covid-19 cases in all 50 states.

{embed_digitalno_izdanje}{/embed_digitalno_izdanje}