Congresswoman Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08) participated today in a Communications and Technology Subcommittee hearing about misinformation on social media platforms. The CEOs of Google, Twitter, and Facebook were asked about what they are doing to combat misinformation online.
“I’m a pediatrician and have spent my life calming nervous patients because of online misinformation. That’s why I introduced the VACCINES Act to combat this misinformation,” said Rep. Schrier. “Did you know that there are doctors who, after spending their days on the frontlines fighting this virus come home at night and spend their scarce free time fighting misinformation about vaccines online?”
Rep. Schrier went on to cite threats and other misinformation that were posted on her official Facebook page when she introduced the VACCINES Act in 2019, and most recently when she has posted about the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rep. Schrier continued, “While the overt threats and vitriol are unsettling, particularly after January 6th, I think about the ecosystem – your ecosystem – that directs a hostile sliver of society en mass to my official Facebook page. These are not my constituents. In fact, most came from two specific Facebook groups that directed their members to my page.”
In her remarks, Rep. Schrier asked Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, about the number of employees Facebook has monitoring flagged posts, pages, and groups. And whether the content reviewers have a background to know what the correct medical and health information is. She urged Mr. Zuckerberg to direct people to trusted sources, like the CDC, for information on vaccines instead of Facebook’s current practice of keeping individuals within Facebook for resources.
The above is a press release from Rep. Kim Schrier. The Auburn Examiner has not independently verified its contents and encourages our readers to personally verify any information they find may be overly biased or questionable. The publication of this press release does not indicate an endorsement of its content.
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