- Go ahead. - Thanks, Jen.
First on COVID origins -- Is the White House
worried that China continues stonewalling
the World Health Organization investigators
and now is saying things like they think
maybe COVID-19 got into China through frozen food?
- We are certainly remain-- continue to be concerned, Peter,
about misinformation coming from voices in China
about, certainly, the origins,
their lack of participation in the process,
their lack of willingness to provide data and information
to the World Health Organization.
As you know, we're undergoing our own process here,
our 90-day review here.
But certainly, the Chinese providing information,
being a participant in the process, would aid the effort.
- And then speaking of misinformation
and the announcement from yesterday --
for how long has the administration been spying
on people's Facebook profiles,
looking for vaccine misinformation?
- Well, that was quite a loaded and inaccurate question,
which I would refute. - Inaccurate how?
- Well, Peter, first of all, as you know,
we're in a regular touch with a range of media outlets --
-And we expect that the White House
is watching Fox -- -Let me finish.
As we are -- as we are in regular touch
with social-media platforms.
This is publicly open information --
people sharing information online --
just as you are all reporting information
on your news stations.
- But -- okay, so these 12 people
who you have on a list --
12 individuals -- do they know that somebody
at the surgeon general's office is going through their profile?
- I'm happy to get you the citation
of where that comes from.
There's no secret list.
I will tell you that these are people
who are sharing information on public platforms --
on Facebook -- information that is traveling, is inaccurate.
Our biggest concern here -- and I, frankly, think
it should be your biggest concern --
is the number of people who are dying around the country
because they're getting misinformation
that is leading them to not take a vaccine.
- But -- -Young people, old people,
kids, children - this is all being --
a lot of them are being impacted by misinformation.
- The big concern though, I think,
for a lot of people on Facebook
is that now this is Big Brother watching you.
- They're more concerned about that than people
dying across the country because of a pandemic,
where misinformation is traveling
on social-media platforms?
That feels unlikely to me.
If you have the data to back that up,
I'm happy to discuss it.
- Okay, and just about things that are on Facebook --
I looked this morning.
There are videos of Dr Fauci from 2020,
before anybody had a vaccine, and he's out there saying
there's no reason to be walking around with a mask.
So, is the administration going to contact Facebook
and ask them to take that down?
- Well, first, I think what Dr Fauci has said himself --
who's been quite public out there --
is that science evolves, information evolves,
and we make that available in a public way
to the American people.
- Exactly -- -I have never seen any data
to suggest that the vaccines cause infertility.
That is information that is irresponsibly traveling.
Okay. - Just one more, just one more.
Just one more.
Okay, about the science evolving --
Facebook used to post --
used to block people from posting
that COVID may have originated for a lab.
That is something this president now admits is a possibility.
So, is there any concern that the things
you're trying to block or have taken down
might someday turn out to be -- -We don't take anything down.
We don't block anything.
Facebook and any private-sector company
makes decisions about what information should be
on their platform.
Our point is that there is information
that is leading to people not taking the vaccine,
and people are dying as a result.
And we have a responsibility, as a public-health matter,
to raise that issue,
the responsibility we all have --
the government, media platforms, public messengers --
to give accurate information.
Go ahead.
- About the 12 individuals
that are on that separate site --
it's not from the White House; I don't have the source
in front of me, but we've read it, as well.
Can you give us a sense of who those individuals are,
as was asked before?
And what specifically -- you've given a tough message
to the social platforms that they should do more --
the social-media platforms.
What, from this podium, is the message to those individuals --
the 12 of them -- who are responsible
for 65% of the misinformation that's out there?
- The message is the same message
as it is to every person out there who has a platform,
whether that is an elected official
or that is a person who is a civic leader.
The vaccines are safe.
They're effective.
If people take them, they will save their life, in many cases.
And so, our message to everyone who is sharing misinformation
is that your --
the steps you're taking are irresponsible,
they could lead to people getting very sick,
and people ultimately losing their lives.
Why don't we all participate in a process
that will help provide accurate information out there?
- Has the White House participated in
any direct contact with these individuals,
given the impact they're having, through any avenue
to try to say, "Knock it off"? - No.
And I'm happy to get you guys the data on
where we got that information -- -It's public.
- Yeah, it's publicly available data.
We'll get you the citation is what I mean.