Attorney General Tong Calls on Facebook, Twitter to Stop Spread of Anti-Vaxxer Coronavirus …

Press Releases 03/24/2021 Attorney General Tong Calls on Facebook, Twitter to Stop Spread of Anti-Vaxxer Coronavirus Disinformation (Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong today led a coalition of eleven other attorneys general calling on Facebook and Twitter to take stronger measures to stop the spread of anti-vaxxer coronavirus disinformation on their social media platforms. In letters to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, the attorneys general urge both leaders to immediately and fully enforce company guidelines against vaccine misinformation to prevent needless infection and death and to hasten our road to recovery. The availability of safe and effective vaccines means the end of this pandemic is in sight. But our ability to do so quickly and limit further loss of life depends on broad public acceptance of these vaccines. False information regarding the safety of coronavirus vaccines by a small number of individuals lacking medical expertise and often motivated by their own financial interests has reached over 59 million followers on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter, threatening to undermine vaccine acceptance and harm the nation’s recovery. Anti-vaxxers have used these platforms to disproportionately target people of color and Black Americans specifically—communities who have already suffered the…
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