Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra claimed that “current information and misinformation” were responsible for low trust in health professionals.
In the published interview written by The Washington Post On Sunday, Becerra discussed leaving his position with fewer Americans trusting public health agencies since the 2020 pandemic.
“Sitting in his office at HHS headquarters, America’s top health official identified the culprit: a media climate that he says stifles reliable information. False claims about vaccines run rampant on the Internet; government health experts at press conferences hardly compare to influencers who have a large following,” the report said.
“I can’t argue with social media,” Becerra said.
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra speaks during a visit to a pharmacy in Washington, Jan. 12, 2023. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque/photo)
He defended the Biden administration’s decisions such as implementing a vaccine mandate or encouraging social media sites to remove “misinformation” about the coronavirus pandemic. Becerra insisted his department did the right thing based on the information they had at the time.
“Any opportunity I have to do what the science and the evidence tells me will protect Americans and save lives … I would do it again,” Becerra said.
He questioned whether HHS or any public health agency could ever regain Americans’ trust from online influencers.
“Do I think the American public is back to the point where they trust, whether it’s the ACA or vaccines, as much as they trust their priest or their rabbi? No,” Becerra said. “But then again, I don’t think the priests either… don’t have the same position they had before.”
Becerra defended the Biden administration over its response to the pandemic against online critics. (AP Photo)
“I don’t know what else we can do,” he added. “I’m more than willing to listen if anyone has any great ideas.”
As Becerra criticized online misinformation, social media companies began attacking President Biden in the weeks before he left office.
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In a nearly 3-hour interview with Joe Rogan on Friday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg talked about the Biden administration putting pressure on your company during the pandemic censor people who criticize the vaccine and other policies related to the pandemic.
“During the Biden administration, when they were trying to get the vaccine program going,” Zuckerberg said. “While they were trying to push that agenda, they were also trying to censor anyone who was fundamentally opposed to it. And they were pushing us hard to remove things that were honest, true. They were basically pushing us and saying, you know, that ‘everything he says that vaccines could have side effects, you basically need to remove.’ And I said, ‘We’re not going to do that, obviously we’re not going to do that, I mean, that’s definitely true in a way.'”
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed the tension between his company and the Biden administration during the pandemic. (iStock)
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He added, “I mean, actually these people from the Biden administration would call our team and they’d be like screaming at them and swearing at them, and it’s like… these documents are, it’s all out there somewhere.”
Zuckerberg also announced on Tuesday that Meta will be lifting some of its fact-checking restrictions promote “free expression”.
