Facebook has taken action against the so-called “disinformation dozen,” a set of accounts publicly identified by the Biden White House as responsible for the majority of alleged coronavirus “disinformation” on the platform.
The Biden administration identified the accounts last month and publicly urged Facebook to take action against them. It appears Facebook has now succumbed to that pressure.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives for the 8th annual Breakthrough Prize awards ceremony at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California on November 3, 2019. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
In a statement to CNN, a White House spokesperson said the administration would continue to push for more censorship from social media platforms, and continued to criticize Facebook.
“In the middle of a pandemic, being honest and transparent about the work that needs to be done to protect public health is absolutely vital, but Facebook still refuses to be straightforward about how much misinformation is circulating — and being actively promoted — on their platform,” said the spokesperson.
President Joe Biden speaks about the coronavirus pandemic in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
“It’s on everyone to get this right so we can make sure the American people are getting accurate information to protect the health of themselves and their loved ones — which is why the Administration will continue to push leaders, media outlets, and leading sources of information like Facebook to meet those basic expectations.”
Despite criticizing Facebook, the White House admitted last month that it is in regular contact with the platform to identify and remove posts.
As Breitbart News reported last month:
On Thursday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki admitted that the administration is identifying posts to Facebook that contain “misinformation” about coronavirus vaccines and is in “regular touch” with the Masters of the Universe. Psaki specifically admitted that the administration is flagging “problematic” posts to Facebook.
“We are in regular touch with the social media platforms and those engagements typically happen through members of our senior staff and also members of our COVID-19 team,” Psaki told reporters, adding “his is a big issue, of misinformation, specifically on the pandemic.”
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 20: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki removes her face mask to start her first news conference of the Biden Administration in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House January 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. Psaki previously worked in the Obama Administration as White House Communications Director and spokesperson for the State Department. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The White House also came out in support of Facebook’s decision to ban former President Trump from the platform, again using the “disinformation” buzzword to justify its stance.
Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. He is the author of #DELETED: Big Tech’s Battle to Erase the Trump Movement and Steal The Election.