Facebook deletes Trump post calling COVID-19 'less lethal' than flu, Twitter adds warning label
Less than 24 hours after returning from the hospital, President Donald Trump was back on social media downplaying the severity of the coronavirus.
“Flu season is coming up!” read the post published to the president’s Facebook page on Tuesday morning. “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!!!”
This is not true. Yes, people still die from the flu. The CDC reported at least 24,000 people in the U.S. died from the flu during the entire 2019-2020 season, which is in line with numbers in previous years.
However, even with lockdown measures, the United States has seen more than 210,000 deaths from COVID-19 in just six months. Without quarantining and social distancing, those numbers would undoubtedly be much higher. Also, as Trump mentioned, there’s no vaccine, like there is for the flu.
The claim is dangerous misinformation — and it looks like Facebook agrees.
“We remove incorrect information about the severity of COVID-19, and have now removed this post," a Facebook spokesperson told Mashable.
Twitter did not remove the same message. Instead, it hid the post in users' timelines, but it's still accessible by clicking "View." Twitter also labeled it with a warning that reads, "This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about spreading misleading and potentially harmful information related to COVID-19. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible."
Facebook has faced criticism in the past for not removing posts from Trump that could lead to real-world harm. However, in August, the company did remove a post from the president for spreading coronavirus misinformation.
