Social-Media
Facebook removes Trump's article falsely saying that COVID-19 is less deadly than the flu
Facebook deleted a post where President Donald Trump wrongly reported that the novel coronavirus was less lethal than the usual flu. Earlier today, Trump wrote on Facebook and Twitter that America learned to live with the coming flu season, much as we're learning to live with COVID-19—which, Trump wrongly said, is much less lethal in most populations!!! Facebook confirmed to CNN that the post had been deleted for breaching its rules against COVID-19 misinformation.
Twitter did not delete a tweet with the same message, but added a warning label and limited contact with the post.
As CNN reporter Donie O'Sullivan tweeted, Facebook vowed to delete COVID-19 misinformation that could contribute to imminent physical damage. This includes misleading statements about the location and magnitude of COVID-19 outbreaks.
We don't know the exact mortality rate of the novel coronavirus, but there is clear evidence that it is more lethal than the flu, and it's almost definitely not much less dangerous even for low-risk populations.
Trump also reported that often over 100,000 people die each year from the flu, when the actual figure is between 24,000 and 62,000 US deaths in recent years. Since March, COVID-19 has killed more than 210,000 Americans.
We don't know the exact mortality rate of the novel coronavirus, but there is clear evidence that it is more lethal than the flu, and it's almost definitely not much less dangerous even for low-risk populations.
Trump also reported that often over 100,000 people die each year from the flu, when the actual figure is between 24,000 and 62,000 US deaths in recent years. Since March, COVID-19 has killed more than 210,000 Americans.
