Zuckerberg criticizes Trump coronavirus response as Facebook struggles to contain its own misinformation virus.
Zuckerberg criticizes Trump coronavirus response as Facebook struggles to contain its own misinformation virus
No more Mr. Nice Zuck.
During a Facebook Live Q&A with Dr. Anthony Fauci, Mark Zuckerberg did not mince words when he criticized the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus. That's a departure from Facebook's usually kowtowing relationship with the president — and Facebook's own struggles to contain and meaningfully address the spread of COVID-19 misinformation on its platforms.
Zuckerberg opened the Q&A with a statement that diverged from the Trump administration's downplaying of the coronavirus and praising of the country's response. Namely, he started by acknowledging that things are bad here.
"While every other developed country in the world, or almost every other country, has had a relatively smaller number of new infections, we now face a record number of new infections every day," Zuckerberg said. "At this point it is clear that the trajectory in the U.S. is significantly worse than many other countries, and that our government and this administration have been considerably less effective in handling this. I personally think we need to take this a lot more seriously."
Trump, u up?
Zuckerberg's first question to Fauci drove the point home when he asked why the U.S. response has been less effective than many other countries' responses. Namely, he started by acknowledging that things are bad here.
Fauci then gave an overview of the country's state of affairs, noting the positive gains in the northeast, but the troubling surge in southern states like Florida. Fauci called for a "reset," meaning the country has to regroup to enact better social distancing health measures.
Zuckerberg agreed with Fauci's statement, but wasn't done with Trump yet.
"I think you might be quite generous in your description of the government’s response here," Zuckerberg said. "I was certainly sympathetic early on when it was clear that there would be some outbreaks, no matter how well we handled this. But now that we’re here in July, I just think it was avoidable. And it’s really disappointing that we still don’t have adequate testing. That the credibility of our top scientists like yourself and the CDC are being undermined. That until recently, parts of the administration were calling into question whether people should follow basic best practices like wearing masks."
The remarks are pointed: Trump only recently endorsed wearing masks, and is loathe to wear masks in public himself. Considering that Facebook usually appeases Trump when it comes to allowing him to lie on its platform, and that Zuckerberg has met with the president in both public and private, the rhetoric stings.
However, it was also a bit rich.
Zuckerberg failed to acknowledge his own platform's role in the "undermining" of scientists and health agencies. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Facebook has been struggling to contain the spread of misinformation about coronavirus. It has launched an information center and pop-ups encouraging people to get their information from the CDC. In April, it labeled 50 million pieces of content as misinformation, and announced Wednesday that it was launching a portal dedicated to correcting common misconceptions about coronavirus.
However, the fact remains that Facebook unequivocally allows President Trump a platform on which he himself spreads misinformation about coronavirus and numerous other topics, with only the most meager of fact checks, sometimes.
Zuckerberg tentatively acknowledged some of that misinformation in the Q&A. Without explicitly naming the anti-vaxxers that flourish on his platforms as such, Zuckerberg asked Fauci to explain to some "fringe elements" about the safety of vaccines.
In another instance, Zuckerberg invoked one common misinformed screed about masks, which is that masks cause you to breathe in your own carbon dioxide, which is not good for you. Zuckerberg asked Fauci "Are there any known adverse risks to wearing a mask?" Fauci, of course replied, "not at all."
Zuckerberg has criticized Trump before. When Trump glorified violence against Black Lives Matter protesters, Zuckerberg said he was "deeply shaken and disgusted." That didn't stop the CEO from justifying the platform's decision to leave the remarks up on Facebook, though.
Facebook has certainly ramped up its efforts to fight coronavirus misinformation. However, until Facebook meaningfully enforces on Trump its own rules against speech that can cause harm and is able to stop coronavirus misinformation from spreading due to Facebook's very nature, Zuckerberg's plea for science and praise for Dr. Fauci are just words.
Mashable
"But I'll still let him lie on my site and won't fact check him."
ReplyDeletehttps://giphy.com/gifs/someone-facebook-data-dSdvPrKU0w8WGo4c9L
Zuckerberg is no different than a gop hack.
ReplyDeletehypocrite much
DeleteYou can kiss....
Deleteif you could only leave FB after your extensive whining ...
Deleteedgy commentary. Top fan material.
DeleteIt should be called Karenbook.
ReplyDeleteIt's all business!
ReplyDeletehttps://media.tenor.co/images/071cdfcf66ab415e83386663eb0d44d0/tenor.gif?riffsid=TkRBME9EQXlNRjkwYUE9PTB6HwommxSqyxOXR8FE9-qsNTMA7mhepzbsk6gn2TwBtiJ0dyBlGBWIl2dTkCDj5nqQsfBxmTvpkIH4
Too late Zuck
ReplyDeleteNo more Mr. Nice Zuck.
ReplyDeletehttps://giphy.com/gifs/masterpiecepbs-downton-abbey-dowager-QZ88GKBba6TjLhBFGD
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of discussions about vaccines. What about for those people that will refuse to take it,, such as myself?
ReplyDeleteWHY DON’T THESE BILLIONAIRES USE SOME OF THE MONEY THEY WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO SPEND IN A LIFE TIME AND BE A HERO TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND HELP US???????????
ReplyDeleteand the reason that the MSM and liberal politicans keep citing the growing number of cases of covid and NOT the deaths is because it doesn’t support their narrative
ReplyDeleteCovid is an annual flu that kills the most vulnerable..every year. Last year 40 million Americans were infected by the flu. most with no symtoms. This year tragically there are more deaths but it is the same population dying as every other year. Median age of death 84..50% in nursing homes 93% with other health issues
Why the shut down response this year? Why does the MSM censor these comments focusing only on infections (this will be a long slog to get to 30-40 million cases..which it will)
Why no big MSM outcry over social distancing during the rioting ? In fact the “experts” said that there was no spike in cases from the rioting..is rioting a miracle or cure?
Another “nobody” putting their 2 cents in. WTF qualifies Zuckerberg to speak on this topic. He probably knows less than the average American does about Covid. I understand his questioning of how this virus got ahead in the USA like it has but seriously who gives a rats backside about what Mark Zuckerberg, Kanye West and the rest of the Hollywood elite have to say about anything. These are the very people that have destroyed our country with their “agendas”.
ReplyDeleteThe Zuck has balls of steel, though not a simily of humanity. He is an opportunistic thief of intellectual property (FB idea from the Winklevoss twins) either utterly un-willing and more likely incapable of controlling his subversive ATM, known as Facebook. His whole fortune is made by selling your data so he must, at least verbally, acknowledge that he won’t take any action until he feels it’s the most profitable. When being a trumpeter helped him, he was a trumpster. Now the winds of reality are starting to blow, and cost him advertisers/sponsors, so suddenly his concern is claimed to now be where it should have been all along. He masters the words but when you see him try to deliver with sincerity, he just comes off looking like the weasel he is, caught in the headlights and now frozen in the road because he can’t steal the knowledge to move over and he’s not bright enough on his own. A very low class parasite, nothing more.
ReplyDeleteFauci has earned his respect through hard work ethic and moral fiber. Where we have others that think they are born into it or can buy and bully their way or lie to get it. That always comes up short and lacks credibility.
ReplyDeleteThank you Dr. Fauci for hanging in there in spite of the arracks by ignorant politicians who only care about their positions of power and their stupid followers who will overlook all manner of greed, corruption, and incompetence simply because the the stupid guy in charge looks like them.
ReplyDeleteI believe nothing the trump regime says or does. My economy is still closed. I’m my own public health officer. I’m not patronizing restaurants, bars, mall, or going to any social gatherings. I do biweekly essential shopping only. These folks can throw open the doors all they want. I will not be shopping with them and I definitely dont shop with even grocery stores that dont require masks.
The trump regime can hide all the statistics they want but they cant hide the overcrowded hospitals and dead bodies in refrigerated trucks outside the hospitals.
Mark your last person who should cricticzes our President.you trying to steal our election. You are no difference then Russia.
ReplyDeleteWell,duuhhhh……
ReplyDeleteThe LIES are on TWITTER (not Facebook) with the mob of Hollywood libs, Bias Journalists and a Mob of politicos and their agenda. They attack Facebook because Trump’s campaign teams has a much larger base than Biden so this is about INTERFERING in the 2020 election by attacking Facebook trying to coerce them top shutdown political ads because the need to cheat to win this election. Biden is weak and and Sanders and AOC are pulling his strings to for a Radical left agenda. These are not Blue Dog moderate Dems running the show. Also, Facebook ads are important to LOCAL CANDIDATES to get their message out.
ReplyDeleteMore ted hate.
ReplyDeleteCant believe Fauci would allow himself to be used by Zuck like this. This is clearly Zuckerberg trying to deflect from his own failures. Some of his statements are hilariously hypocritical. I am certainly not a fan of Trump or the way hes handled the virus but Zuck being critical of him? His platform spreads more lies than that which comes out of Trumps mouth.
ReplyDeleteAlso, why isnt he spending his billions to help pay for increased testing and ppe? Nope, easier to blame others!
“I just think that it was avoidable and it is really disappointing that we still don’t have adequate testing (ill never help!), that the credibility of top scientists like yourself and the CDC are being undermined (by ppl like me!)”
I’ll take the word of a renowned infectious diseases expert like Dr. Fauci over that of a corrupt New York con man like Bunker Boy any day.
ReplyDeleteNY con man..like the Cuom brothers?
DeleteGov. Cuomo sends covid patients to nursing homes to live with our most vulnerable citizens, and where over half of the deaths occur
Demands that the incompetent federal government magically produce $500 million off ventilators, which they actually did, then ..oops don’t need them. Was he held accountable?
Chris Cuomo’s essential travels while he had covid was to check out the building of his new mansion..without a mask..and verbally attacking the person that noted it
Those corrupt NY con men
NAILED IT
DeleteI worked allergy clinic for 12 years and am retired nurse. Great info from Fauci. Still believe in what he has to say.
DeleteYea Dr. Fauci sure has your best interest, along with Bill Gates haha
Deleteface palm
DeleteIGNORANT JERK
DeleteStop believing conspiracy theories. You are not informed, you are manipulated to believe in boogeymen, while a treasonous grifter and his cronies laugh all the way to the bank.
DeleteAnd you do as well. This is why you will burn everything – that has been carefully labored over with time, patience, and love – to the ground. Because cynicism is the best way how you show others how much you care so much about them.
DeleteThank you so much for all that you are and do.
More vaccine for me! See you in hell when i arrive 30yrs later!
Delete