US Surgeon General asking Facebook to reign in misinformation on vaccines

FireDragon76

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It's well past time. The social media sphere is full of misinformation about vaccinations.

It's noteworthy that on Facebook, 65 percent of the anti-vax content is produced by only 16 people. This is not a mass movement of reasonable debate, it's an orchestrated campaign of misinformation by cranks, trolls, and bad actors.
 

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GoldenBoy89

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It's well past time. The social media sphere is full of misinformation about vaccinations.

It's noteworthy that on Facebook, 65 percent of the anti-vax content is produced by only 16 people. This is not a mass movement of reasonable debate, it's an orchestrated campaign of misinformation by cranks, trolls, and bad actors.
Agreed. Social media is probably the biggest source of information we have available right now and that’s not going to slow down or change anytime soon. They absolutely have a responsibility to make sure that the information being spread on their platforms, particularly in regards to public health, be as accurate as possible and not misleading propaganda.
 
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Yttrium

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Agreed. Social media is probably the biggest source of information we have available right now and that’s not going to slow down or change anytime soon. They absolutely have a responsibility to make sure that the information being spread on their platforms, particularly in regards to public health, be as accurate as possible and not misleading propaganda.

I wouldn't put too much responsibility on them, considering the immense amount of material to review. I want them to clean things up where they can, but I expect them to miss a lot, because they're not omniscient.
 
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98cwitr

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Why is a private company being used to censor speech on behalf of the government? I think this is plain and blatant constitutional overreach and a direct violation of their oaths.
 
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comana

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Why is a private company being used to censor speech on behalf of the government? I think this is plain and blatant constitutional overreach and a direct violation of their oaths.
A private company is being asked to step up and filter out harmful misinformation. How is this bad?
 
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Yttrium

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Why is a private company being used to censor speech on behalf of the government? I think this is plain and blatant constitutional overreach and a direct violation of their oaths.

It's a request from the Surgeon General, not legislation from Congress. Facebook is free to ignore him. (Facebook won't ignore him, though.)
 
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98cwitr

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It's a request from the Surgeon General, not legislation from Congress. Facebook is free to ignore him. (Facebook won't ignore him, though.)

The Surgeon General swears an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States, does he not?
 
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Yttrium

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The Surgeon General swears an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States, does he not?

So did I. Twice. That doesn't mean I can't ask Facebook to clean some things up. Not that they would pay any attention to me.
 
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FireDragon76

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cow451

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The Surgeon General swears an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States, does he not?
He is. The government can ask anything of private industry in a crisis. But they can’t demand it.

Private industry stepped up pretty well during a couple of World Wars. Remember that all administrations make requests of private industry.
 
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cow451

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So did I. Twice. That doesn't mean I can't ask Facebook to clean some things up. Not that they would pay any attention to me.
It is very hard to …. Oh, Yttrium, I forgot you were still here…
 
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wing2000

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What a gross act of censorship. If they forbid people from sharing misinformation, how will people be able to make up their mind if they want to believe the truth of believe a lie?
 
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BBAS 64

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A private company is being asked to step up and filter out harmful misinformation. How is this bad?

Good Day, Comana

The government is asking a private company to act like an extension of (agency) of the government. The government has not been afforded the right by the people to determine what is "misinformation".

These are the seeds of Communism. The funny thing about this is I have heard that in a Supreme court decision ( Columbia vs. ?) Justice Thomas warned about this type of action and now we see it. Would not be surprised to see a very strong statement from him on this fairly soon.

I am sure given this information first hand that Trump and his team will amend it's class action language and include the statements from the white house , and if they have not already the text from the decision I just mentioned.

In Him,

Bill
 
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Nithavela

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These are the seeds of Communism.
757.jpeg
 
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KCfromNC

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When did we give the government the right to regulate our beliefs?
Seems off topic - this is about the surgeon general asking a company to help stem the tide of anti-vaxx misinformation.
 
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