Facebook Pressed on COVID 6a414c 19 Vaccine Disinformation by US State Attorneys General

The inquiry was generated after a Facebook whistleblower disclosed that it has built a system that exempts high-profile s from its rules. 486ls

By Reuters | Updated: 15 October 2021 12:33 IST

Facebook Pressed on COVID-19 Vaccine Disinformation by US State Attorneys General

This is not the first time Facebook faced criticism due to COVID-19 misinformation 2j46s

Highlights

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was sent a letter
The letter was sent by 14 US state attorneys general
Letter inquires if Facebook gave special treatment to some s

ment

The attorneys general of 14 US states sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg asking if the top disseminators of vaccine disinformation on the platform received special treatment from the company.

The line of inquiry was generated after s Haugen used internal documents to disclose that the social media platform has built a system that exempts high-profile s from some or all of its rules.

In the letter, which was sent on Wednesday, the 14 Democratic attorneys general said they are "extremely concerned" with recent reports that Facebook maintained lists of who have received special treatment and want to know if the "Disinformation Dozen" were part of those lists.

Facebook Says It Is Helping Reduce COVID-19 Vaccine 'Hesitancy'

The Center for Countering Digital Hate describes the "Disinformation Dozen" as 12 anti-vaxxers who are responsible for almost two-thirds of anti-vaccine content circulating on social media platforms.

Facebook spokesman Alex Burgos pointed to earlier comments by the company that it had removed over three dozen pages, groups, and Facebook or Instagram s linked to those 12 people, including at least one linked to each of the 12, for violating its policies. It has also applied penalties to some of their website domains.

YouTube. Researchers and lawmakers have long accused Facebook of failing to police harmful content on its platforms.

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In July, US President "are killing people" for allowing misinformation about coronavirus vaccines to be posted on its platform.

Haugen, a former product manager on Facebook's civic misinformation team, left the company with tens of thousands of confidential documents and has called for transparency about how Facebook entices s to keep scrolling, creating ample opportunity for rs to reach them.

The letter was sent by the attorneys general of Connecticut, California, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia.

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