Both Facebook and Twitter took action against the Trump campaign yesterday after it shared false information about COVID-19 that could put people in danger. The Trump campaign shared a video on Facebook and Twitter of Donald Trump claiming that children were “almost immune” to COVID-19. This is not true. In fact, children have died from the disease, and others have symptoms not present in adults that we don’t yet understand. Basically? COVID-19’s dangerous for everyone, no matter how much Trump tries to downplay his involvement in the pandemic or undermine its severity. “Things happen” is not an acceptable answer to a thousand Americans dying every week. Neither is lying to them.
Both Twitter and Facebook have guidelines about spreading misinformation about the pandemic. That’s why they’ve removed the post and tweet, the latter of which Trump himself retweeted. He should know better. In fact, he does.
Trump’s Messaging
Trump has consistently attempted to downplay the significance of COVID-19, for a variety of reasons. In 2018, Trump dismantled our team of epidemic specialists (fact check), who could have helped us take quick action against this virus. From the very beginning, he was set up for failure.
From there it was a lack of tests, because we decided not to use those developed by the World Health Organization. Then we decided to tell people that masks were ineffective (despite no studies on this), rather than just telling people to refrain from buying masks as medical professionals needed them. By this point we already knew that people could be contagious for up to two weeks before symptoms appeared, so mask wearing was obviously a way to stop the spread. No one wanted to admit to that. Trump and Republicans have tried to force rapid reopening to force people into unsafe conditions for the sake of boosting the economy. Trump has even tried to downplay the virus to force people into voting in person, knowing it would drive down voter turnout. Trump believes we’d “never have a Republican elected in this country again” if it was easier to vote. He’s likely correct, the Republican Party is built up on voter disenfranchisement and the Electoral College. Trump himself lost the election by 3 million votes, but won due to the Electoral College.
To say Trump has inconsistent in his messaging wouldn’t be true. Trump has been very consistent. The only problem is our expectations. People keep believing Trump will act in America’s best interests because he’s out president. Time after time, he acts only in his own interests. While everyone else’s children will be heading back to school later this month, Trump’s child will be staying home.
He Knows the Dangers
That’s the real problem. Donald Trump knows how deadly and dangerous COVID-19 is. That’s why everyone around him is tested daily. And they don’t have to wait over two weeks for results like the rest of us. No, they get test results the next day. Trump knows that this is a deadly disease with debilitating and potentially lifelong symptoms. He just wants you to believe that it’s safe to go out. His reelection could depend on it, and your health just isn’t as important. That’s why his campaign tweeted out a video of Trump stating, again, falsely, that children are “almost immune” to COVID-19.
240,000 children have contracted COVID-19. 30 of them have a potentially deadly or debilitating illness called multi-system inflammatory syndrome as a result of their infection. Six have died. Children are not immune, no matter what Trump tweets or posts.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 5, 2020
Trump tried to retweet the deleted tweet, but it just shows up as this link that shows nothing.
Facebook and Twitter Take Action
“This video includes false claims that a group of people is immune from Covid-19, which is a violation of our policies around harmful Covid misinformation.”
– Facebook Spokesperson
We’re in the midst of a deadly pandemic. COVID-19 seems to have lasting effects, even in those who have mild or no symptoms initially. Perfectly healthy people are having strokes and later testing positive for a disease they didn’t even realize they had. This is dangerous, deadly, and potentially debilitating.
Not even Facebook is willing to ignore that.
That’s why both Facebook and Twitter removed the Trump campaign’s post. However, in their usual fashion, they didn’t react quickly enough. The video on Twitter had nearly a million views. Hundreds of thousands of people were exposed to Trump’s lies about COVID-19, and the health of their children and everyone else is in danger now if they follow his advice. His influence on these platforms may lead to actual deaths. But with 1,000 Americans dying every day of this disease thanks to Trump’s actions (or lack thereof), how’s he supposed to react?
Certainly not by saying “It is what it is.”
“The Tweet you referenced is in violation of the Twitter Rules on COVID-19 misinformation. The account owner will be required to remove the tweet before they can tweet again.”
Both Twitter and Facebook removed the posts, stating that spreading misinformation about COVID-19 is against their guidelines. Twitter has prevented the Trump campaign from tweeting until they delete the video themselves, and have currently hidden the tweet from anyone else. Neither social network wanted to stand as an arbiter of truth or the only thing protecting this country from those who would do its citizens harm, but here we are. What a strange world 2020 has become.
We’re now waiting for the impending temper tantrump.
Sources:
- Axios via HBO/YouTube
- Asha Barbaschow, ZDNet
- Karissa Bell, Engadget
- Jessica Guynn, USA Today
- Celia Kang and Sheera Frenkel, New York Times
- Heather Kelly, The Washington Post
Bonus:
Just watch this. It’ll tell you everything you want to know about how seriously Trump is taking this pandemic and the people his actions are killing.