Rep. David Sicilin (D-RI) accused CEO Mark Zuckerberg of allowing the rigging of the coronavirus virus and spreading misinformation on Facebook as part of an intense confrontation during Wednesday’s House Judiciary Committee public hearing in the Big House It is “attractive” and “good for business”.
“The more busy you are, the more money you make,” said Cicillin, who chairs the Judiciary Committee’s anti-subcommittee on the topic of Facebook’s incentives, saying the content could be harmful – such as the rapid proliferation of coronavirus misinformation is currently making waves is. Across social media platforms.
Cicillin listed some of the top posts on Facebook this year, including a quote from President Donald Trump claiming that injecting disinfectants can clean the lungs, and that the coronovirus epidemic is a political hoax. He also cited an extensive conspiracy theory video claiming that hydroxychloroquine is an effective treatment for coronavirus and that face masks do not prevent the spread of COVID-19. The video was viewed more than 20 million times before it was taken down from Facebook.
“During the biggest public health crisis of our lifetime, don’t you agree that these articles, viewed by millions of people on your platform, will cost lives?” Asked Sicilyn. “Doesn’t Mr. Zuckerberg suggest that your platform is so large that even with the right policies, you can’t have deadly content?”
“Well Congress, a lot of people shared that,” Zuckerberg said of the video. “I think we have a responsibility to limit the dissemination of content, which we think is going to be harmful.”
Wednesday’s hearing should have focused on antitrust issues within Big Tech, but Facebook’s historic “hands-off” approach received plenty of screen time when it comes to moderating content. Facebook has been known to defend its position to leave posts that incite misinformation or violence. In June, Facebook critics came under attack for leaving a post by President Trump that violence against Black Lives Matter protesters was glorified, a move Zuckerberg defended, leading to a mass advertisement boycott throughout July was done.
Zuckerberg said on Wednesday that he believes Facebook is doing a good job controlling the misinformation on the platform during the rise of COVID-19 during the rise of official authorities, such as people with disease control and prevention Referral to centers as well as to the World Health Organization. for more information.
However, recently, for conspiracy theory groups such as Coronavirus misinformation QAnon, there has been widespread running through the platform. In May, a misinformed documentary called “Plandemic” caused waves on Facebook, and it took about a week before the social media platform was taken down.
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