Biden accuses social media platforms of "killing people" with spread of COVID misinformation
CBSN
President Biden leveled an extraordinary charge against Facebook and other social media platforms on Friday, claiming they are "killing people" by allowing coronavirus misinformation to spread. The accusation comes as health officials are voicing concern over rising cases of the virus and stalling vaccination rates.
"They're killing people. I mean it, really. Look, the only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated and they're killing people," Mr. Biden told reporters. Facebook pushed back, saying it is "helping save lives" by doing everything it can to to combat COVID misinformation.On May 7, health influencer Paul Saladino, M.D.. posted a video to his X account that promoted feeding "raw dairy" to infants. The post received over 90,000 views and sparked strong backlash before it was removed the following day. Saladino regularly advocates for "animal-based" diets featuring raw milk, including on his TikTok channel where he has over half a million followers.
Everywhere you look, things are getting more complicated. Our phones have over a thousand settings. Showerheads come with apps. Cars have touchscreens. Ovens have touchscreens. "There's no doubt that 'featuritis' is real," said design consultant Jakob Nielsen. "Most of these things are too complicated."
New research is adding to the evidence linking ultra-processed foods to health concerns. The study tracked people's habits over 30 years and found those who reported eating more of certain ultra-processed foods had a slightly higher risk of death — with four categories of foods found to be the biggest culprits.