U.S. Sen. Blumenthal criticizes Facebook and Twitter over anti-vax postings

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal criticized Facebook and Twitter for their handling of anti-vaccination content and messaging posted to their respective sites, particularly in regard to misinformation aimed at pregnant women.

According to a report in The Hill, the Connecticut Democrat wrote to the social media companies last month after reports of anti-vaccine posts that targeted pregnant women. One case cited by the senator involved a woman who was 14 weeks pregnant who miscarried shortly after receiving the Covid-19 vaccine and was insulted on social media with messages that she “got what she deserved.” (According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no evidence that the vaccine can spark miscarriages.)

“Facebook and Twitter”™s playbook is out-of-date, worn-out and woefully inadequate toward addressing the horrifying abuse and disinformation that continues to spread like wildfire on their platforms,” Blumenthal said in a statement.

Although both companies have pledged to aggressively monitor and remove posts containing deliberate misinformation about the vaccines, Blumenthal stated their efforts were inadequate, adding that he saw “little in their responses that demonstrates these profitable and powerful companies are going to stop treating victims of this abuse like an afterthought.”

The subject of using social media to spread disinformation on the vaccines and other subjects will be the focus of a House Energy and Commerce Committee scheduled for next week, with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Google CEO Sundar Pichai slated to answer lawmakers”™ questions.