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



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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.

Psaki was asked a question on Thursday 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 manage 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 – given, as Dr Murthy said , that this is a big problem, misinformation, especially about the pandemic, ”Psaki explained.

While referencing the team’s 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 violently rebuffed online, with some calling the actions a First Amendment violation.

Psaki says the White House has reported “problematic posts” on Facebook that they believe to be disinformation about the Wuhan coronavirus. Reminder: Fauci has worked with Facebook to ban the theory of lab leaks, which is factual, for over a year, ”Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich tweeted.

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

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

“If you don’t find deeply troubling that the White House is ‘flagging’ Internet content they deem ‘problematic’ to their 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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