Facebook Removes President Trump Post Over Virus “Misinformation”
By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – Social media giant Facebook confirmed Wednesday that it removed President Donald Trump’s post of a Fox News television interview in which he claimed that children are “almost immune” from COVID-19.
Facebook’s move was expected to be condemned by the White House, where President Trump has questioned the neutrality of social media networks.
But in a statement, Facebook defended its decision saying it removed the video because it “includes false claims that a group of people is immune from COVID-19.” Those claims are “a violation of our policies around harmful COVID misinformation,” Facebook added.
In the Wednesday morning interview with the Fox & Friends program, Trump stressed that children should return to school because they are “almost immune” or “virtually immune” from the disease.
This is the first time Facebook has taken down anything from the president for allegedly violating the company’s policies on coronavirus misinformation.
Last month social networking site Twitter removed a post that Trump had retweeted in which a doctor proclaims that “there is a cure” for the coronavirus.
Facebook has faced increasing pressure to moderate its site. More than 1,000 advertisers have reportedly joined a boycott regarding the company’s alleged poor civil rights record, including Disney and Verizon.
Nearly two dozen state attorneys general sent a letter criticizing the company earlier Wednesday.
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