BRIEFING ROOM

Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki and Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, July 15, 2021

JULY 15, 2021• PRESS BRIEFINGS

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

SURGEON GENERAL MURTHY: It’s nice to see you all today. And thank you, Jen, for

Today, I issued a Surgeon General’s Advisory on the dangers of health misinformation. Surgeon General Advisories are reserved for urgent public health threats.

And while those threats have often been related to what we eat, drink, and smoke, today we live in a world where misinformation poses an imminent and insidious threat to our nation’s health.

Health misinformation is false, inaccurate, or misleading information about health, according to the best evidence at the time. And while it often appears innocuous on social media apps and retail sites or search engines, the truth is that misinformation takes away our freedom to make informed decisions about our health and the health of our loved ones.

[OCS: No, the suppression of free and open discussions represses the natural scientific competition for the truth. Witness that the director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chief medical advisor to the president, Dr. Anthony Fauci, admitted he lied to the American people about mask use to reserve stocks of personal protective equipment for health personnel. Likewise, he cannot produce scientific evidence of the effectiveness of masks.]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, health misinformation has led people to resist wearing masks in high-risk settings. It’s led them to turn down proven treatments and to choose not to get vaccinated. This has led to avoidable illnesses and death. Simply put, health [mis]information has cost us lives.

[OCS: Where is the proof?]

Now, health misinformation didn’t start with COVID-19. What’s different now though is the speed and scale at which health misinformation is spreading. Modern technology companies have enabled misinformation to poison our information environment with little accountability to their users.

They’ve allowed people who intentionally spread misinformation — what we call “disinformation” — to have extraordinary reach.

They’ve designed product features, such as “Like” buttons, that reward us for sharing emotionally-charged content, not accurate content. And their algorithms tend to give us more of what we click on, pulling us deeper and deeper into a well of misinformation.

Now, we need an all-of-society approach to fight misinformation.

[OCS: Here it is: official suppression of free speech.]

And that’s why this advisory that I issued today has recommendations for everyone.

First, we include recommendations for individuals and families. We ask people to raise the bar for sharing health information by checking sources before they share, to ensure that information is backed by credible, scientific sources. As we say in the advisory, “If you’re not sure, don’t share.”

[OCS: Stifling scientific curiosity and promoting self-censorship.]

Second, we’re asking health organizations to proactively address misinformation with their patients. Today, the American Academy of Pediatrics is announcing an educational campaign to help parents navigate online health information. I’m encouraged to see this commitment. And, again, this is just the beginning.

[OCS: You mean the progressive communist democrat American Academy of Pediatrics that makes every progressive agenda item a public health issue?] 

Third, we’re asking educational institutions to help improve health information literacy.
We’re asking researchers and foundations as well to help us learn more about how health [mis]information spreads and how to stop it.

Today, the Rockefeller Foundation is announcing a $13.5 million commitment to counter health misinformation. The Digital Public Library of America is announcing that they will convene a set of librarians, scholars, journalists, and civic leaders to confront health misinformation together.

[OCS: The Rockefeller Foundation is at the forefront of progressive communist democrat causes.]

Fourth, we’re saying we expect more from our technology companies. We’re asking them to operate with greater transparency and accountability. We’re asking them to monitor misinformation more closely. We’re asking them to consistently take action against misinformation super-spreaders on their platforms.

[OCS: This is it! Corporate fascism and proof that the tech tyrants are acting on behalf of the United States government and should no longer be protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (47 U.S. Code § 230). They are now subject to free speech rules and regulations.]

Fifth, we’re also asking news organizations to proactively address the public’s questions without inadvertently giving a platform to health misinformation that can harm their audiences.

[OCS: Implementing government censorship and prior restraint.

And sixth, we know that government can play an important role too by investing in research, by bringing individuals and organizations together to address misinformation, and by supporting groups that are working on this issue.

MS. PSAKI: Sure. Well, first, we are in regular touch with these social media platforms, and those engagements typically happen through members of our senior staff, but also members of our COVID-19 team, given, as Dr. Murthy conveyed, this is a big issue of misinformation, specifically on the pandemic.
 
In terms of actions, Alex, that we have taken — or we’re working to take, I should say — from the federal government: We’ve increased disinformation research and tracking within the Surgeon General’s office. We’re flagging problematic posts for Facebook that spread disinformation. We’re working with doctors and medical professionals to connect — to connect medical experts with popular — with popular — who are popular with their audiences with — with accurate information and boost trusted content. So we’re helping get trusted content out there. <Source>

U.S. Surgeon General Issues Advisory During COVID-19 Vaccination Push Warning American Public About Threat of Health Misinformation

"As Surgeon General, my job is to help people stay safe and healthy, and without limiting the spread of health misinformation, American lives are at risk. From the tech and social media companies who must do more to address the spread on their platforms, to all of us identifying and avoiding sharing misinformation, tackling this challenge will require an all-of-society approach, but it is critical for the long-term health of our nation."

This advisory lays out how the nation can confront health misinformation by helping individuals, families, and communities better identify and limit its spread, and issues a number of ways institutions in education, media, medicine, research, and government stakeholders can approach this issue. It also underscores the urgent need for technology and social media companies to address the way misinformation and disinformation spread on their platforms, threatening people's health. <Source>

Implement product design and policy changes on technology platforms to slow
the spread of misinformation

Invest in longer-term efforts to build resilience against health misinformation,
such as media, science, digital, data, and health literacy

What Technology Platforms Can Do

Assess the benefits and harms of products and platforms and take responsibility for addressing the harms. In particular, make meaningful long-term investments to address
misinformation, including product changes.

Redesign recommendation algorithms to avoid amplifying misinformation, build in “frictions”— such as suggestions and warnings—to reduce the sharing of misinformation, and make it easier for users to report misinformation.

Give researchers access to useful data to properly analyze the spread and impact of misinformation. Researchers need data on what people see and hear, not just what they engage with, and what content is moderated (e.g., labeled, removed, downranked), including data on automated accounts that spread misinformation. To protect user privacy, data can be anonymized and provided with user consent.

Strengthen the monitoring of misinformation. Platforms should increase staffing of multilingual content moderation teams and improve the effectiveness of machine learning algorithms in languages other than English since non- English-language misinformation continues to proliferate.

Platforms should also address misinformation in live streams, which are more difficult to moderate due to their temporary nature and use of audio and video.

Prioritize early detection of misinformation "super-spreaders" and repeat offenders. Impose clear consequences for accounts that repeatedly violate platform policies.

Evaluate the effectiveness of internal policies and practices in addressing misinformation and be transparent with findings. Publish standardized measures of how often users are
exposed to misinformation and through what channels, what kinds of misinformation are most prevalent, and what share of misinformation is addressed in a timely manner.

Communicate why certain content is flagged, removed, downranked, or left alone. Work to understand potential unintended consequences of content moderation, such as migration of users to less-moderated platforms.

[OCS: Free speech platforms – the original intent of the internet!]

Proactively address information deficits. An information deficit occurs when there is high public interest in a topic but limited quality information available. Provide information from trusted and credible sources to prevent misconceptions from taking hold.

[OCS: Remember, these are the ass-hats who think the New York Times, NBC, and MSNBC are trusted and credible sources.]

Amplify communications from trusted messengers and subject matter experts. For example, work with health and medical professionals to reach target audiences. Direct users to a broader range of credible sources, including community organizations. It can be particularly helpful to connect people to local trusted leaders who provide accurate information.

[OCS: The Fauci Clause. And, where are those “trusted local leaders?” Do you mean like the progressive communist democrat governors who head the blue states?

Prioritize protecting health professionals, journalists, and others from online harassment, including harassment resulting from people believing in misinformation.

[OCS: Protect the liars, useful idiots, and communist stooges at all costs.]

Read the full Surgeon General's Advisory here: surgeongeneral.gov/healthmisinformation

Confronting Health Misinformation: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on Building a Healthy Information Environment Advisory - PDF