Tension between President Biden and Facebook 'remains incredibly strong': Cecilia Kang

'The Ugly Truth' author, Cecilia Kang, joins 'Influencers with Andy Serwer' to discuss President Biden's criticism of Facebook over the spread of misinformation.

Video Transcript

CECILIA KANG: There's been an extraordinary exchange of words over the last several days between Facebook and the White House. The White House is really angry about what they see as the spread of misinformation leading to the hesitancy in adopting the vaccine. And Facebook is saying, hey, don't blame us.

It's not just us. It's not just social media. There are many reasons why people aren't adopting the vaccine, and you shouldn't be, quote, "finger pointing" at us. So there's a lot right now a pressure within the White House to meet their vaccination goals, and Facebook is saying, we're actually doing our part not to kill people, but to save lives.

ANDY SERWER: Did it seem like the White House backed down a little bit, or President Biden backed down from a stronger statement?

CECILIA KANG: Yeah, I think he tried to refine his words. He was saying, actually, it's not necessarily the social media companies who are killing people, but it's the big influencers on Facebook who spread misinformation who are leading to deaths, and leading people to not adopt the vaccine. And that was a distinction that was not heard on Friday afternoon as he was boarding Marine One and he did say in direct answer to a question about his thoughts on social media. So it felt like he was actually retreating a little bit. But the frustration and the tension right now between the White House and Facebook still remains incredibly strong.