White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki is doubling down on federal government efforts to flag and remove posts on Facebook containing what administration officials believe is misinformation about the Wuhan coronavirus vaccine. She also argued for bans on individuals who use social media.
PSAKI: If you're banned on one social media platform, you should be banned on other social media platforms. pic.twitter.com/81eOCiRc68
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 16, 2021
After stating the federal government has a right and obligation to flag inaccurate posts, Psaki was cornered by Fox News' correspondent Peter Doocy. Doocy asked about conflicting claims made by Dr. Anthony Fauci last year and Facebook's year long censorship of the lab leak theory.
"There are videos of Dr. Fauci from 2020 before anybody had a vaccine and he is out there saying there is no reason to be walking around with a mask so is the administration going to contact Facebook and ask them take that down?" Doocy asked.
"Science evolves, information evolves and we make that available in a public way to the American people," Psaki said.
He also asked how long the White House has been spying on the Facebook posts of Americans.
Only MINUTES LATER, Jen Psaki calls social media sites like Facebook "public platforms." pic.twitter.com/olva3zlSVm
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 16, 2021
Yesterday Psaki openly stated the White House is flagging posts "for Facebook," sparking outrage over the tech platform being used as a censorship tool.
"We're flagging problematic posts for Facebook that spread disinformation," Psaki said.
Jen Psaki details the Biden administration's plan to demand more aggressive action from Facebook and other social media platforms on combatting "misinformation": pic.twitter.com/gN1uS9TRfO
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 15, 2021