Biden: Social media ‘killing people’ with COVID misinformation

Misinformation about the virus and vaccines has spread on platforms including Facebook and Twitter.

President Joe Biden has said that social media companies are “killing people” by failing to police misinformation on their platforms about COVID-19 vaccines. Biden’s comments came a day after US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared misinformation about the vaccines a threat to public health and as US officials advised that deaths and serious illness from the virus are almost entirely preventable because of the vaccines. Biden, asked if he had a message for platforms like Facebook where false or misleading information about the coronavirus vaccines has spread, told reporters on Friday:  “They’re killing people.”