TOPLINE
Facebook and Twitter on Wednesday took steps to remove a video posted by President Donald Trump in which he says children are “almost immune” to the coronavirus, with both social media companies stating it violated their policies on misinformation.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the James Brady Press Briefing Room … [+]
Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images
KEY FACTS
The video in question was a clip from a Wednesday morning Fox News interview where Trump said children are “almost immune” to Covid-19.
Facebook removed the video, where it was viewed 458,800 times before it was taken down.
Twitter, meanwhile, said Trump’s campaign account, @TeamTrump, violated its rules on COVID-19 misinformation by posting the video, and briefly blocked the account from tweeting until it was deleted.
Twitter’s action is in line with its policy on tweets that violate its rules.
While children may be less likely to develop symptoms, research has shown that they do carry and spread the disease and some have died from it.
The removal is a rare instance in which Facebook has taken down a post by the president entirely, though in the past it has removed ads that contained Nazi symbolism or misled users about the Census.
This is the first time Facebook has taken action against the president for coronavirus misinformation.
Crucial quote
“This video includes false claims that a group of people is immune from COVID-19 which is a violation of our policies around harmful COVID misinformation,” a Facebook spokesperson said.
Key background
Facebook has been criticized by both sides of the aisle for how it handles coronavirus misinformation. Republicans claim the company is “censoring” them by removing content, for example, that touts hydroxychloroquine as a cure for the coronavirus. There is no cure for the disease and some studies have found that hydroxychloroquine may not even be effective in treating the disease at all. Meanwhile, Democrats say Facebook isn’t doing enough to tamp down on the spread of dangerous claims—like the infamous “Plandemic” video—about the virus.
Further reading
20 States Warn Facebook To Do Better At Fighting Hate And Discrimination (Forbes)
