Sacha Baron Cohen: Zuckerberg Should Be ‘Jailed’ For ‘Killing People’ Through Vaccine Misinformation
© REUTERS / POOL
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Earlier, Facebook and the White House exchanged accusations over misinformation related to the COVID-19 vaccination programs. US President Joe Biden has accused Facebook of “killing people” by spreading harmful content. Facebook responded that it had instead supplied millions of people with reliable information about the pandemic and vaccines.
British actor Sacha Baron Cohen on Sunday urged US authorities to hold Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg accountable for purportedly misleading content spread throughout the preeminent social media platform.
Cohen tweeted that “under US law, social media CEOs have near total immunity, which is insane” and called for US laws to be reviewed.
“The president is right—Facebook is killing people. CEOs have been jailed for less,” he claimed. “Hold Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook accountable for the death they cause.”
Cohen also attached an edited photo of Zuckerberg behind bars, with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey also in the frame.
The President is right—Facebook is killing people.
— Sacha Baron Cohen (@SachaBaronCohen) July 18, 2021
CEOs have been jailed for less.
But under US law, social media CEOs have near total immunity, which is insane.
Change the law.
Hold Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook accountable for the death they cause.#StopDeathForProfit pic.twitter.com/As1zGlpTs4
Facebook responded to critical remarks made by Biden on Friday, as the latter noted that major social media platforms that spread misinformation are “killing people,” because “the only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated.” Facebook slammed back, noting that thanks to its resources, two billion people saw scientific evidence that vaccinations worked, and over 3.3 million Americans used its tool to choose their type of vaccination.
NBC's @PeterAlexander: "What's your message to platforms like Facebook [regarding COVID misinformation]?"
— The Recount (@therecount) July 16, 2021
President Biden: "They're killing people." pic.twitter.com/TIaoeESMdk
A day later, the company wrote in its blog that, according to data collected through Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Maryland, the platform has outperformed the Biden administration in promoting vaccine adoption.
“The data shows that 85% of Facebook users in the US have been or want to be vaccinated against COVID-19. President Biden’s goal was for 70% of Americans to be vaccinated by July 4. Facebook is not the reason this goal was missed,” the statement reads.
Earlier this week, a White House spokesperson noted that social media platforms could do more to prevent misinformation. According to the spokesperson, the White House revealed that many "problematic posts" on Facebook were made by "12 people," who are reportedly accountable for "65% of anti-vaccine misinformation on social media platforms."
"All of them remain active on Facebook, despite some even being banned on other platforms, including Facebook - ones that Facebook owns," the spokesperson said during a Thursday briefing.
According to the latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 185.4 million Americans have received at least one vaccine shot with 160.7 million people estimated to have been been fully vaccinated.
