President Biden sparked backlash on social media Friday after he accused Facebook of “killing people” – as the White House‘s partnership with Big Tech companies to crack down on so-called coronavirus “misinformation” was raising major free-speech concerns among critics.
Biden’s comments went viral after a reporter asked him what his message was to “platforms like Facebook” on the subject of “COVID misinformation.”
“They’re killing people,” Biden responded. “The only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated, and they’re killing people.”
The president’s hyperbolic rhetoric was slammed on Twitter.
“@POTUS is right about Big Tech’s role, he’s just pointing his finger at the wrong problem,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. reacted. “It’s their suppression and censorship of early treatment that has cost lives. Social media should have been an open forum for solutions, instead it has become a tool for Big Brother.”
“Are social media companies also guilty of ‘killing people’ if they allow content encouraging people to be obese, to consume fatty junk food, content which glorifies cigarette smoking and large amounts of alcohol consumption and a sedentary lifestyle?” journalist Glenn Greenwald wondered.
