Facebook has removed a post from President Donald Trump on Tuesday where he implied that the flu was more lethal than the coronavirus. Meanwhile, Twitter labeled the same post, claiming it violated the company’s policies.
The remarks from the president, who tested positive for coronavirus, were posted on Facebook and Twitter on Tuesday morning. The post is no longer seen on Trump’s Facebook page.
His tweet is still visible on Twitter, however the company added a note saying that it violates the company’s rules about “spreading misleading and potentially harmful information related to COVID-19.”
CNN first reported that Facebook had taken down Trump’s post, which reads:
“Flu season is coming up! Many people every year, sometimes over 100,000, and despite the Vaccine, die from the Flu. Are we going to close down our Country? No, we have learned to live with it, just like we are learning to live with Covid, in most populations far less lethal!!!”
From our friends at Nautilus
Facebook has taken heat for having a lax policy when it comes to moderating the president’s posts, especially when compared to how other social media platforms have labeled misinformation or fact-checked him.
Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment by the Daily Dot.
Facebook’s policies regarding coronavirus misinformation note that they can remove any content that “could contribute to imminent physical harm” and that it will also remove content that makes “false claims about cures, treatments, the availability of essential services or the location and severity of the outbreak.”
In early August, Facebook also removed a post from the president that included a video of a Fox News interview he gave, in which he falsely claimed that children are “almost immune from” coronavirus.