Facebook on Saturday pushed back at President Joe Biden for the second time in as many days, suggesting the company has been more effective than the government in promoting Covid-19 vaccination after Biden said the social media behemoth is "killing people" with misinformation.
Asked Friday for his message to social media platforms regarding vaccinations, Biden said, "They’re killing people."
"The only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated, and that’s — they’re killing people," he continued.
Facebook refuted the criticism Friday, saying 2 billion people have viewed the science that vaccination works on the platform, and that more than 3.3 million Americans used its vaccination finder tool.
On Saturday, it doubled down, saying its data, collected with the help of Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Maryland, adds up to the platform appearing to outperform the Biden administration on fostering "vaccine acceptance."
"The data shows that 85% of Facebook users in the US have been or want to be vaccinated against COVID-19," said Guy Rosen, the company's vice president of integrity. "President Biden’s goal was for 70% of Americans to be vaccinated by July 4. Facebook is not the reason this goal was missed."
Facebook has encouraged Americans to get inoculated through tools that include its vaccination finder and optional "profile frames" that show when friends have been vaccinated.
Rosen said "vaccine hesitancy" on the platform has declined 50 percent, ostensibly since the rollout of vaccines in January.
"We have been doing our part," he said as part of a presentation-style statement Facebook published Saturday afternoon.
Biden points out Facebook for Covid vaccine misinformation https://t.co/dfyOMqFW2B via @nbcnews
— Tom Benson (@Tombenson1) July 18, 2021
The Biden administration admitted it missed its goal of having 70 percent of Americans at least partially vaccinated by July 4, posting a 67 percent rate.
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