No, Biden, Facebook Isn't Killing People
Also, regulation is (still) not the answer to online misinformation.

This manic Monday The Reason Roundtable tackles President Joe Biden's wild accusations against Facebook, plus the larger debate around misinformation, social media, and government regulations. Join Matt Welch, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Peter Suderman, and Nick Gillespie to hear them discuss:
1:52: Facebook "killing people," and what to do about social-media misinformation
30:19: Weekly Listener Question: "In search for a single point of focus to stand in representation of the multiple reasons for my vaccine hesitancy I have failed many times. If there is an alternative and logically consistent hypothesis, blessed by the CDC, and accepted by those who oversee the mainstream narrative I would be glad to know what it is."
36:16: Biden administration's 3.5 trillion double plus new new deal.
48:24: Weekly media recommendations
This week's links:
- "The Panic Pandemic," by John Tierney
- "The Government Should Stop Telling Facebook To Suppress COVID-19 'Misinformation'," by Robby Soave
- "Magical Thinking Abounds in New Budget Deal Discourse," by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
- "Biden Charges Facebook With Homicide, While His Surgeon General Recommends 'Legal and Regulatory Measures' To Suppress COVID-19 'Misinformation'," by Jacob Sullum
Send your questions to roundtable@reason.com. Be sure to include your social media handle and the correct pronunciation of your name.
Today's sponsors:
- Living in a digital age where your personal data is always under attack, your online privacy seems to be a thing of the past. Did you know there is a way to protect your information and privacy without worrying about Big Tech mining and stealing your private data? Introducing Sekur—an encrypted instant messaging and secure email service hosted in Switzerland, where the world's strictest data privacy laws are applied. Take back your privacy and online security with Sekur by going to Sekur.com.
- Imagine an app where you can get unlocked access to reliable news sites. An app that filters out fake news and clickbait but still shows you every story from multiple perspectives to counter bias. Where good news, as in positive stories, is highlighted—so you don't become despondent. And where journalists dig through news from around the world to find stories you wouldn't normally see. That's what an innovative Australian startup called Inkl has come up with. The service unlocks more than $12,000 of premium news for $100 a year. If you go now to inkl.com/podcast, they'll give you an additional 25 percent discount, so you can get a whole year's worth of headache-free news for just $75.
Audio production by Ian Keyser.
Assistant production by Regan Taylor.
Music: "Angeline," by The Brothers Steve.
What are we consuming this week?
Peter Suderman
Katherine Mangu-Ward
- Mine will be Strange Practice, by Vivian Shaw
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Ode to fauci:
I heard he gave a good presser,
I heard he had a style
So I went to see him to listen for a while
And there he was this prog guy
Lying clear and loud
Telling me about alergies
Funding the Wuhan virus
Killing me softly with his work,
killing me softly... With his work
Flack or Hill? Either way, C-
Woohoo a passing grade
Fauci Haiku:
Fauci says wear masks
For he and science are one
He can fuck himself.
Cultural appropriator!
Were I samurai
I would chop off Fauci's head
Then write a haiku.
Misinformation
Is 1 line of a haiku
It's like I'm cheating.
Misinformation
Fauci is a retard cunt
Misinformation
Thats not misinformation though
It is an insult
against all humanity
but mostly retards
Biden is senile
Why is there no vaccine for
The Cronyvirus
https://medium.com/@motionnftmakerreview/motionnftmaker-review-best-bonuses-discount-c658003f12c
demo https://medium.com/@motionnftmakerreview/motionnftmaker-review-best-bonuses-discount-c658003f12c
Probably 99% of premature deaths are from government -- wars, famine, piss-poor disaster relief while banning private relief (such as price gouging laws), excessive regulation banning unapproved pharmaceuticals, zoning and occupational licensing which reduce quality of life.
But even wars are not the primary cause. Socialists, ie government, murdered 100-200 million people last century, outside of war, merely for thought crimes. Wars didn't even come close.
Fuck government.
Disaffected, no-count, vanquished, impotent, anti-social, irrelevant, anti-government right-wing cranks are among my favorite culture war casualties.
That they must devote the remainder of their lives to complying with the preferences of better people in modern America is important and sweet. They get to whine about it as much as they like, but they will toe the line.
Carry on, clingers. So far as your betters permit.
There is now ZERO question that the Power-Mad Nazi's (def; National Socialists) who compulsively violates "the peoples" law over them (i.e. The U.S. Constitution) in the Federal Government are the..
BIGGEST SOURCE OF MISINFORMATION.
As-if there was any logical argument before this.
“Online misinformation” is a crisis that has been fabricated (once again) by the government, specifically by the the Democrats.
Please quit playing along with it already.
"Facebook IS people."
JUST LIKE SOYLENT GREEN.
+ And just about as hard to swallow!
The fire extinguisher story promoted by some of the commenters on here was a form of online (and traditional media) misinformation.
Some of them like MollyBitch are paid trolls too.
You would think NPR would want to use that story as an example given its ubiquity. Otoh, if we found out that Ashli Babbitt had actually been shot by a Proud Boy that would be all over the place.
Posted this in another thread, but for the record, Biden walked back his statement that Facebook is killing people. He's now saying that the 12 individuals on Facebook were killing people by disagreeing with the bureaucrats. See for yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAWUeqnBLkA
Blaming 12 individuals for those deaths--rather than Facebook--doesn't change the fact that the White House sending Facebook a list of posts to delete and pages to deplatform violates the First Amendment. This is disgraceful behavior.
And the narrative about Facebook deplatforming people being an example of them freely exercising their property and association rights should die.
He didn't even make that statement. As you say it was about the posters not the site.
Well Facebook does have the right; the problem is not that FB bans stuff but that Biden is threatening legal action unless they do. That is the disgraceful part.
The problem with that is that when a "private" business has effectively merged with the government, it becomes subject to the constitutional restrictions on the government. Government may not end-run the Bill of Rights by contracting out rights violations to front companies.
No, Biden, Facebook Isn't Killing People
Twitter is the one with the kill teams.
Yes, Facebook, Biden is Killing People.
How many people has Zuckerberg bored to death since this was posted ?
Funny how the left seizes on the one thing conservatives ever have (Fox News, Facebook) and go to war with it. Like they want us to ignore every other news outlet or social media site that leans hard left.
Twitter being a far left cesspool is no big deal, and everything Vox is to the center for them. They can all go F**k off.
I personally can't wait to see how Reason justifies an 8 month federal sentence for someone who committed no violence nor vandalism in the Capitol Riots.
At least it wasn't a Capital offense this time like Babbit.
The statement the DoJ and his lawyers made him state in court is absolute bullshit as well.
I'm sure the Kavanaugh protesters who interrupted the hearing multiple times also got 8 months right?
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/405500-212-protesters-total-arrested-during-kavanaugh-hearings
Nineteen individuals were arrested for the same offense outside of Sen. Chuck Grossley's (R-Iowa) office in Hart, where progressive groups staged a protest on Thursday against the Judiciary Committee chairman and Kavanaugh.
One adult male on Thursday was also arrested in the Judiciary Committee room and charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, simple assault and disruption of Congress.
All in jail right???
The protesters who disrupted the 2016 certifications were in prison for 8 years right?
https://www.wsj.com/video/protesters-disrupt-verification-of-trump-election-in-congress/36BFD54E-8165-4D31-86A7-AC41BC3D910D.html
What the shit!
You know, that headline gave me a not so funny idea, Facebook is made from people!
You're right- stupid people are killing stupid people.
Too bad they didn't get to you yet, leftie shitbag.
I’ll believe that a democrat government can regulate misinformation away when everything it says is true. Consistently. Over some along of time.
They can't even make it through a 24-hour cycle without lying their asses off.
Zzz...
Aw man Robbie Steinhardt died.
Song for America first heard that when I was 16. Still great.
The statement by the White House raised the issue of FB being a " state actor ". The specific statement was that the White House was flagging/ identifying misinformation "FOR " Facebook. There's a legal and practical difference between government doing something FOR a private company and government communicating and notifying a private company of an inaccuracies or false.
The legal analysis for determining if an entity or individual is a state actor is the level and degree of control of government over the actions by a company/ individual.
how come people come into this conclusion
Is it just me or does that reader question make no sense?