White House says it is alerting Facebook about posts that spread COVID-19 misinfo; US surgeon general calls on social media companies to tackle health misinfo

As the rate of Covid-19 vaccination slows and cases rise again, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called on tech platforms …

Deadline 2021-07-16 Ted Johnson

Context & Ripple Effects

The relationship between the White House and the platforms has flipped from cooperation to confrontation in sixteen months. In March 2020, the administration sought Facebook's, Twitter's and Microsoft's help combatting coronavirus misinformation and tracking its spread; by July 2021, with vaccinations slowing and cases rising again, it is alerting Facebook to individual offending posts and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy is publicly calling the companies out.

The escalation has teeth: officials who met with Facebook about vaccine misinformation concluded the company was either not taking their concerns seriously or hiding something, and President Biden followed within a day by accusing platforms like Facebook of "killing people." Murthy's advisory converts a running dispute into a formal public-health demand.

First-order effects

Facebook now faces direct government flagging of specific misinformation posts plus a sitting president publicly blaming it for vaccine deaths — putting its content-moderation choices on vaccination at the center of a national news cycle rather than an internal policy question.
Murthy's call extends the pressure beyond Facebook to social media companies generally, making health misinformation an official administration priority tied to the slowing vaccination rate.

Second-order effects

Other platforms face a forced choice between tightening health-content enforcement to avoid Facebook's treatment and resisting on free-expression grounds — either path invites the same public shaming Facebook is absorbing.
Cooperative channels built during the pandemic response are being replaced by adversarial ones: if flagging posts fails to move Facebook, the administration's next lever is formal information demands rather than partnership.

Third-order effects

That next step already arrived in this arc: by March 2022 the surgeon general had formally demanded Big Tech hand over data on the scale of COVID-19 misinformation ahead of a deadline — signaling a shift from voluntary cooperation toward government-compelled disclosure of how platforms handle content.
If the pattern holds, pandemic-era emergency coordination becomes standing government oversight of platform speech decisions, with each escalation normalizing a greater degree of official involvement in what platforms host.

The trend: Government-platform relations on health misinformation are hardening from voluntary cooperation into public pressure and formal information demands, with the White House setting the tempo.

Discussion

@acyn @acyn on x
Psaki: There's about 12 people who are producing 65% of anti-vaccine misinformation on social media platforms. All of them remain active on Facebook despite some being banned on other platforms including ones that Facebook owns https://twitter.com/...
@surgeon_general @surgeon_general on x
Today I issued a Surgeon General's Advisory to call our country's attention to health misinformation - an urgent threat to our health that requires an all-of-society response. https://www.surgeongeneral.gov/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@cbsnews @cbsnews on x
Psaki says the White House is working with social platforms to help get trusted content out, flagging misinformation and has proposed multiple changes to how COVID-19 information is monitored and measured on social platforms, including Facebook. https://twitter.com/...
@surgeon_general @surgeon_general on x
Each of us has the power to stop health misinformation in its tracks. So the next time you want to share a health-related article or video, check your sources and make sure the information is backed by scientific experts. If you're not sure, don't share. #NotSharingIsCaring https…
@ggreenwald Glenn Greenwald on x
As I've documented before, the Supreme Court has ruled that the First Amendment's free speech guarantee is violated when government officials pressure or coerce private actors to censor for them. That is exactly what the Biden WH is doing with Facebook: https://greenwald.substack…
@tomcottonar Tom Cotton on x
The White House wants to censor “misinformation” on Facebook while President Biden claims that voter ID laws are worse than Jim Crow.
@surgeon_general @surgeon_general on x
We all have the power and responsibility to confront health misinformation. That's why we included recommendations for individuals, educators, researchers, health professionals, tech companies, and more. Learn how you can act at https://surgeongeneral.gov/.... https://twitter.com…
@willoremus Will Oremus on x
Add to the list of comparisons between big tech and big tobacco: Cigarettes and social media both get a surgeon general's warning. https://www.reuters.com/...
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
@MLnieto Everyone at Facebook is obsessed with analysis and metrics and yet somehow they don't think about those metrics at all?
@greg_price11 Greg Price on x
The White House saying they will be flagging posts to Facebook that they find “problematic” is one of the most disturbing things I have ever heard since I started following politics
@abcpolitics @abcpolitics on x
In remarks about health misinformation, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy says he has lost 10 family members to COVID-19. “On a personal note, it's painful for me to know that nearly every death we are seeing now from COVID-19 could have been prevented.” https://abcnews.go.com/...…
@columbiabugle @columbiabugle on x
Biden Administration: Yeh we want a massive amnesty and hey Facebook can you silence these people we don't like. Republicans: Wow! Did you see this new Pitbull video on Cuba!!!!!
@doctorow Cory Doctorow on x
Facebook's attack on Crowdtangle is significant, especially in light of its sustained assault on independent accountability and transparency tools like Ad Observer, a project from NYU's engineering school. https://pluralistic.net/... 10/
@jj_rochester Jennifer Johnson on x
Part of my job is to team up w/ @DocEMurray and work with our @URMed_GCH staff to feel prepared & comfortable in working with media and social media to spread credible knowledge and combat misinformation. We're grateful to @GCHPedsChair for supporting this and for this message ⬇️…
@kjp46 Karine Jean-Pierre on x
In a new Surgeon General's Advisory, the Surgeon General is warning the American public about the urgent threat of health misinformation & calling for a whole-of-society approach to address health misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. https://www.hhs.gov/...
@hawleymo Josh Hawley on x
The Biden Administration is apparently coordinating with @Facebook to censor speech and evade the First Amendment. I'm asking @Facebook for answers
@arneduncan Arne Duncan on x
Thanks @Surgeon_General for your critically important leadership! We must all work together, with everything we have, to combat two interrelated public health crises: COVID and misinformation. Both have, and will continue, to kill us if we don't stop them. https://twitter.com/...
@amy_siskind @amy_siskind on x
In his first address, US surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy said tech and social media companies were not doing enough to stop the spread of misinformation, especially about Covid-19, and also cited Fox News hosts including Tucker Carlson & Laura Ingraham. https://www.nytimes.com/…
@abigailmarone Abigail Marone on x
.@HawleyMO on the White House working with Facebook to censor Americans —> “This kind of coordination between big government and the big monopoly corporations, boy that is scary stuff, and it really is censorship.” https://twitter.com/...
@meganfoxwriter Megan Fox on x
I think this means we can FOIA all White House communications with Facebook... https://twitter.com/...
@bgmasters Blake Masters on x
Facebook is an extension of the Biden administration. https://twitter.com/...
@ggreenwald Glenn Greenwald on x
If you don't find it deeply disturbing that the White House is “flagging” internet content that they deem “problematic” to their Facebook allies for removal, then you are definitionally an authoritarian. No other information is needed about you to know that.
@wexler Nu Wexler on x
This is techlash word salad from Hawley. The government can offer public guidance about vaccine disinformation, and private social platforms are free to ignore it. https://twitter.com/...
@louisianagov John Bel Edwards on x
It's never been more important for Louisianans to have access to factual health and medical information. We have the tools to end the COVID-19 pandemic, and facts are one of them. #lagov https://twitter.com/...
@wutangkids @wutangkids on x
People have gotten so stupid in this country that the Surgeon General has to do a press conference from the White House to tell people to stop getting medical advice from memes on Facebook https://twitter.com/...
@mtgreenee @mtgreenee on x
This is how communism starts. The White House is working with Facebook to censor your post which is violating your free speech because people want to discuss (on FB) a NON-FDA approved vaccine that the Biden admin wants to force you to take.
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
It puzzles me how ruthlessly pragmatic, flexible and protean Facebook is with product but how stubborn and inflexible it is on questions like this https://twitter.com/...
@evelyndouek Evelyn Douek on x
The Surgeon General's advisory on misinfo mostly just repeats the regular platitudes & avoids the hard qs but something that stuck out is that it stops short of calling on platforms to *take down* “misinformation” Outside the binary! You love to see it. https://www.hhs.gov/... ht…
@jordanschachtel @jordanschachtel on x
When Surgeon General says “misinformation,” he means departure from the regime-approved narrative. Dissent mustn't be tolerated, & he wants Big Tech to crack down on what amounts to open inquiry & free exchange of ideas. In other words, he's a tyrant. https://twitter.com/...
@ryanafournier Ryan Fournier on x
BREAKING: The Biden administration is telling Facebook what is and isn't “acceptable” for their platform...much like how they handled the Hunter Biden laptop scandal https://rumble.com/...
@doctorow Cory Doctorow on x
It's hard to overstate how deranged this is: surely Zuckerberg presents a different facet of his identity to his spouse, his kids, his shareholders, his co-workers and the press. It's not “two faced” to talk to your boss differently from how you talk to your lover. 24/
@kmunoz46 Kevin Munoz on x
Tune in shortly to hear the Surgeon General speak to the urgent issue of addressing health misinformation. It is on all of us to do more to ensure every American can make an informed decision on the facts for their health. https://twitter.com/...
@thechrisbuskirk Chris Buskirk on x
Reminder: It is illegal for the government to instruct private actors to do something that the government may not do itself. Government may not directly silence Americans' speech. Instructing Facebook to do it is illegal & a legitimate cause of legal action. https://twitter.com/.…
@drleanawen Leana Wen on x
Misinformation takes away our freedom to make informed decisions for ourselves & our loved ones. It's led people to resist masks. To turn down treatments & refuse to be vaccinated. —Dr. Vivek Murthy on the decision to issue a @Surgeon_General advisory on health misinformation
@arkloster Andrew Kloster on x
Still believe in the public-private distinction? This is a direct order from government to business. A business that follows this directive has proved it is a state actor. https://twitter.com/...
@ggreenwald Glenn Greenwald on x
The Biden administration is telling Facebook which posts it regards as “problematic” so that Facebook can remove them. This is the union of corporate and state power — one of the classic hallmarks of fascism — that the people who spent 5 years babbling about fascism support. http…
@pturnermd @pturnermd on x
Health misinformation is literally killing us as a society. Glad that the @Surgeon_General is addressing this. Lack of health literacy is one thing (which also needs to be addressed), but flagrant articulation/amplification of misinformation is the scourge of #COVID19 times. http…
@gopleader Kevin McCarthy on x
The Biden Administration just announced they are working with Facebook to censor more Americans. Big Tech and Big Government want the same thing → to control you. As a reminder, America is a land of FREEDOM.
@doctorow Cory Doctorow on x
Facebook's desire to “control the narrative” is part of this intellectual tradition, and it's hardly the first time the company has done it. Early in the company's history, Zuckerberg defended his “real names” policy by saying that anyone who objected was “two-faced.” 23/
@dylanbyers Dylan Byers on x
Facebook response to White House https://twitter.com/...
@knightfdn @knightfdn on x
Misinformation is a threat to the health of our country's residents and our democracy at large. @Surgeon_General's recognition of the danger of misinformation is an important step in combatting the issue. (THREAD 1/4) https://twitter.com/...
@aslavitt @aslavitt on x
Today the @Surgeon_General classified misinformation as a public health danger. Purveyors of lies about vaccines are as dangerous as people who dump toxins in our lakes and rivers.
@ggreenwald Glenn Greenwald on x
There is no circumstance — none — in which it's acceptable for the White House or any other agency of the government to be providing lists to Facebook of “problematic” content it wants removed, yet's that exactly what Psaki says they're doing: https://twitter.com/...
@sabrevaya Sandra Abrevaya on x
As @PressSec said, there's about 12 people who are producing 65% of the anti-vaccine misinformation on social media platforms. Addressing health misinformation saves lives. Thank you @Surgeon_General and @ewwaldo for your leadership. https://twitter.com/...
@surgeon_general @surgeon_general on x
Health misinformation is information that is false, inaccurate, or misleading according to the best available science at the time. During this pandemic, it's divided our friends, families, and communities. It's led to threats against our health workers. And it's cost us lives.
@jackposobiec Jack Posobiec on x
I told you the Biden Admin was working on lists https://twitter.com/...
@maziehirono Senator Mazie Hirono on x
CrowdTangle data shows what we already know: that right-wing disinformation and hate speech are rampant on @Facebook. The response? The company considers less transparency. When is Mark Zuckerberg going to realize Facebook doesn't have an image problem—Facebook is the problem?
@senronjohnson Senator Ron Johnson on x
Exactly what is the Surgeon General calling misinformation? Without specifics, he is guilty of his own accusation. His job is to provide the public information they need to make an informed choice. He should respect their intelligence and freedom. https://twitter.com/...
@danpriceseattle Dan Price on x
@Acyn @stephhegarty Mark Zuckerberg is now worth $129 billion, and he's gotten $74 billion richer in the pandemic. As long as people keep flocking to FB, that's all they care about.
@brandyzadrozny Brandy Zadrozny on x
The most ironic part? CrowdTangle gathered some of the most adversarial tech reporters and connected them with Facebook product and policy employees and actual probably engendered goodwill. Like it was probably a net PR win. But short-sighted Growth execs were mad...about a list.
@liz_wheeler Liz Wheeler on x
If the White House is flagging “misinformation” on Facebook for Facebook to censor... doesn't that mean that FB is acting as an arm of the state in which case wouldn't free speech be constitutionally protected on the platform?
@deadline Deadline Hollywood on x
As the rate of Covid-19 vaccination slows and cases rise again, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called on tech platforms and the news media to take greater steps to combat misinformation https://deadline.com/...
@brandyzadrozny Brandy Zadrozny on x
For the foreseeable future, this account is just a vehicle to retweet this story about how Facebook is choosing to nuke a team that actually increased understanding of the threats posed on Facebook because it slightly annoyed a handful of executives. https://twitter.com/...
@kirstinestewart Kirstine Stewart on x
Wish there was a report function on @twitter for this. I get good response from reporting other bad activity but there's no category for vaxx disinformation...should be an easy add? https://twitter.com/...
@jackposobiec @jackposobiec on x
Notice how Psaki discusses Facebook as if it's just another government agency
@fboversight @fboversight on x
Company over country https://twitter.com/...
@dineshdsouza Dinesh D'Souza on x
Psaki Straight Up Admits Government is Telling Facebook What Content to Allow https://rumble.com/...
@ggreenwald Glenn Greenwald on x
The White House is admitting that they're compiling lists of people who they claim are posting content they regard as “problematic” and that constitute “misinformation” and are demanding Facebook remove them. This is authoritarianism: https://twitter.com/...
@mtaibbi Matt Taibbi on x
This is so completely fucked. Unbelievable https://twitter.com/...
@iansherr Ian Sherr on x
Your tax dollars are paying for the federal government to spend time tracking and flagging disinformation for the social networks. Meanwhile, Facebook reported just shy of $9.5 billion in PROFIT in the first three months of this year alone. https://twitter.com/...
@drdenagrayson @drdenagrayson on x
Facebook helped #Russia throw the 2016 election to Trump, and now, keeps enabling the rampant spread of dangerous, anti-#vaccine disinformation. Yet more reasons to #DeleteFacebook.👎🏼 https://twitter.com/...
@sacca @sacca on x
Facebook knows this. We all see the emails where the leaders of the company admit it. But they don't give a shit how many people die. Facebook only cares about Facebook. https://twitter.com/...
@kevinroose Kevin Roose on x
This stat was discovered by researchers using CrowdTangle, the FB-owned data tool I wrote about yesterday. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@donie Donie O'Sullivan on x
NEW w/@kaitlancollins: White House officials are growing increasingly frustrated with Facebook's response to vaccine misinformation. Biden officials think Facebook is not “taking this very seriously, or they are hiding something.” https://www.cnn.com/...
@donie Donie O'Sullivan on x
Interestingly, Facebook has shared some non-public data about the reach of some posts with the WH. But not enough, I'm told. For some insight into why “reach” data matters read this from @kevinroose. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@donie Donie O'Sullivan on x
A person familiar with meetings between Facebook and the WH described them as “tense.” Major issue for WH is the amount of information Facebook is *not* sharing about who is seeing vaccine misinformation.
@thomasbyrnetd Thomas Byrne on x
Anecdotally, I feel that vaccine misinformation on Facebook is also increasing this month in Ireland. It is so threatening to public health. https://twitter.com/...

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