Facebook has finally removed a false claim from President Trump’s page, the claim being that children are less susceptible to the COVID-19 virus. The advice from a Presidential press conference should come from Dr Anthony Fauci and really only him.
Facebook has a right and a responsibility to remove inaccurate information, especially life threatening, but they and the other social media platforms have a long way to go with so many medical lies out there including the nature of the virus, the spread of the virus and especially the treatment options. Eventually, hopefully, there will be a vaccine and it must be available cheaply and without unfounded fears about the vaccination process.
There are many lies out there, moon landing doubters, rigged elections, Elvis sightings and even Lizard people but fortunately they are so silly no one believes them. When the proponents are interviewed, they are even more obviously from the deranged thinking of some lost souls. This is the danger behind the misleading information from President Trump, most people have trust in their president and see the role as being a leader and a source of accurate information backed up by the best experts available.
It’s time to emphasise the right and responsibility of social media platforms to provide access to correct information and to remove falsehoods and perhaps to consider their original purpose, as Facebook was designed to connect not to divide.
Dennis Fitzgerald,
Melbourne, Australia
