Protestors placed body bags bearing the phrase "Disinfo Kills" in front of Facebook's Washington offices.
The Real Facebook Oversight BoardA year-old watchdog group placed body bags in front of Facebook's offices in Washington, D.C., as part of a protest over disinformation on the social network.
The Real Facebook Oversight Board, a group of critics that includes early investor Roger McNamee, staged the Wednesday protest as concerns mount about vaccine disinformation on the world's biggest social network. The group released a report that focuses on the problem, including a group of disinformation "superspreaders," as the protest took place.
"Facebook disinformation kills," the group, which is part of a nonprofit called The Citizens, said in a tweet.
TODAY: We placed body bags in front of Facebook HQ in Washington DC to draw attention to dangerous disinfo on Facebook. Facebook will likely report record earnings today. Investors need to ask themselves: what are they getting for their money?
— The Real Facebook Oversight Board (@FBoversight) July 28, 2021
Facebook disinformation kills https://t.co/x2XCZanVtN pic.twitter.com/JZmw3ZPeMY
The protest took place hours before Facebook is due to report second-quarter earnings. It comes as concern about vaccine disinformation on social media mounts. President Joe Biden and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy have both singled out misinformation as a public threat during the pandemic.
"We permanently ban Pages, Groups, and accounts that repeatedly break our rules on COVID misinformation, and this includes more than a dozen Pages, Groups, and accounts from these individuals," a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement.