Facebook (Sort of) Reacts to Right Wing Use of its Platform to Politicize Public Health

Facebook is taking down pages promoting anti-stay-at-home protests, but only in places where large gatherings are against the law, like California.

Social media platforms have been systemically deleting pandemic-related disinformation, and Facebook, like the others, is keen to publicize a variety of efforts designed to boost credible information and suppress false information on its various properties, including Instagram and WhatsApp, during the coronavirus pandemic. But Facebook and Twitter are caught in what has evolved into a politicized battle over public health.

Just a few weeks ago, President Trump asserted he had “total authority” to determine when to lift shelter-in-place rules, only to be publicly smacked down by constitutional law experts. Then the president pivoted and declared he would leave it up to governors to determine when it would be advisable to ramp up economic activity.

Shortly thereafter, right-wing groups and pro-gun activists started organizing protests online, and Trump quickly endorsed them, publishing a tweetstorm designed to put pressure on governors like Gavin Newsom of California, who are following recommendations from public health officials to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Trump tweeted, “LIBERATE MINNESOTA!” following with  “LIBERATE MICHIGAN!” and then “LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!”

According to a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll conducted April 14-19, 2020, a majority of Americans agreed it could be June or later before it will be safe for larger gatherings to take place again.

In the poll, 54% gave the president negative marks for his handling of the outbreak and offered mixed reviews for the federal government as a whole. But 72% gave positive ratings to the governors of their states for the way they have dealt with the crisis.

Facebook has historically tread lightly when a coordinated campaign appears to be political in nature, preferring instead to focus on other deletion triggers the company defines.

Last October, in a speech at Georgetown University, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg declared, "Some people believe that giving more people a voice is driving division, rather than bringing people together. More people across the spectrum believe that achieving the political outcomes that they think matter is more important than every person having a voice and being heard. I think that that's dangerous."

Responding specifically to the decision to take down some posts about shelter-in-place protests, a company spokesperson wrote, "Unless government prohibits the event during this time, we allow it to be organized on Facebook. For this same reason, events that defy government's guidance on social distancing aren’t allowed on Facebook."

Even though Facebook has only deleted the protest posts it considers an inducement to illegal activity, the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., tweeted Monday, “Why is @Facebook colluding with state governments to quash peoples free speech?"

A number of other Republican lawmakers posted similar sentiments.

Twitter has historically resisted calls to discipline or banish the president from its platform, despite claiming in March that it would pull down any "clear call to action that could directly pose a risk to people's health or well-being."

In response to a request for comment from KQED, a Twitter spokesperson added, "The use of ‘liberate’ in the Tweets you referenced is vague and unclear, and not something that allows us to reliably infer harmful physical intent."

Silicon Valley Democratic Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, reached for comment, had this to say: "Putting politics ahead of people's safety during the worst pandemic in a century is unconscionable and a new low. In the middle of a public health emergency, tech platforms have a responsibility to combat all disinformation that puts the health and safety of Americans at risk. We need an aggressive response to this problem, not one that picks and chooses based on a narrow set of criteria."