Facebook Navigates No-Win Position Of Curbing Protesters’ Organization Efforts While Side-Stepping GOP’s Legal Threats
Facebook says it is not only trying to combat misinformation about the coronavirus online but also trying to mitigate efforts for protesters to gather in large groups against public health experts' guidance. But Republicans have been quick to call the company's actions a "chilling and disturbing" infringement of free speech.
Politico:
Coronavirus Protests Test Facebook's Free Speech Pledges
The right-wing anti-lockdown protests breaking out around the U.S. are presenting the latest no-win quandary for Facebook, as the world's largest social network tries to fulfill its pledge to remain politically impartial amid a pandemic that has killed more than 42,000 Americans. The company has taken tentative steps so far — blocking protesters from using Facebook to organize in-person rallies in California, New Jersey and Nebraska — but not in other places, such as Michigan, Texas and Virginia, where people have rallied together outside state capitols in defiance of orders to self-isolate at home. (Overly, 4/20)
The Wall Street Journal:
Facebook Puts Limits On Protest Organizers
Dozens of protests have taken place in recent days, with participants complaining of shelter-in-place restrictions and pushing for state governments to allow more freedom to return to normal activities as the coronavirus pandemic plays out. Most of the events have been relatively small, but have drawn outsize attention on social media as the debate about when and how to reopen the economy becomes increasingly political. Facebook groups, some with tens of thousands of members and some using near-identical language in their descriptions, have popped up in states like Michigan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania. The groups raise concerns about what they see as overly restrictive orders imposed by state governors. (Wells and Restuccia, 4/20)
The Wall Street Journal:
Coronavirus Misinformation Spreads On Facebook, Watchdog Says
Posts on Facebook are promoting bogus Covid-19 cures and conspiracy theories about the origins of the coronavirus, despite efforts by the social-media giant to crack down on misinformation, a watchdog group says. Sites with millions of Facebook followers have touted high doses of vitamin C and silver particles as able to cure the virus, according to NewsGuard, which tracks and rates news sites it says traffic in dubious information. Neither treatment has been scientifically proven to work. Other Facebook pages have spread the unproven theory that 5G wireless technology spreads the virus, NewsGuard said. (Alpert, 4/20)
