Katie Couric: Misinformation ‘superspreaders’ should be held liable
President Joe Biden muted his criticism of Facebook parent Meta (FB) over the spread of COVID-19 misinformation after a clash last summer in which Biden accused the social media giant of "killing people" by spreading vaccine lies, Reuters reported earlier this month.
The high-stakes dispute between Biden and Meta last July included the White House's reference to 12 COVID-19 misinformation "superspreaders" who an advocacy group says account for the bulk of false statements on the platform.
Those dozen superspreaders still hold 40 accounts on Facebook, Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) YouTube and other social media platforms, as of December, Reuters says.
In a new interview, Katie Couric — the former host of "Today" and "CBS Evening News" — called for an escalation of enforcement against misinformation superspreaders that should include legal responsibility for damage caused by their false statements.
"People who spread it — who are 'superspreaders' — should be held liable for spreading this disinformation, whether it's about COVID, or vaccines, or about Sandy Hook," she told Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer on Jan. 11.
"I think that platforms need to be more aggressive about monitoring it," she adds.
Couric, who released a memoir in October entitled, "Going There," co-founded and runs a media company called Katie Couric Media.
In some cases, prominent figures have faced legal liability for false remarks. In November, a Connecticut court found conspiracy theorist Alex Jones liable for defamation over his claim that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax.
Two months earlier, a federal judge refused to dismiss defamation lawsuits brought by voting machine company Dominion Voting Systems against Trump allies over false claims about voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
A backlash against popular podcast host Joe Rogan over COVID-19 misinformation shared on his program has drawn renewed attention to the role of false information spread by prominent figures.
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek apologized to employees over the uproar and the company removed more than 100 episodes of Rogan's podcast. Rogan continues to host the show.
The White House identification last summer of 12 misinformation superspreaders came after a report from advocacy group Center for Countering Digital Hate found that those individuals were responsible for up to 73% of anti-vaccine misinformation on the platform.
Facebook has strongly rebuked the finding that those dozen individuals account for such a large share of misinformation on the site.
"There isn’t any evidence to support this claim," Monika Bickert, Vice President, Content Policy, said in a statement in August. "Moreover, focusing on such a small group of people distracts from the complex challenges we all face in addressing misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines."
Speaking to Yahoo Finance, Couric noted the tension between free speech protections enshrined in the Constitution and the civic danger posed by inaccurate information.
"The sticky wicket America has is free speech, and how do you balance free speech with the need to have outright lies," she says. "Where, unfortunately, an audience is receptive to believing them."
Read more:
What Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants in the next Supreme Court nominee
Billionaire Tom Steyer: Capitalism has taken world to 'brink of climate disaster'
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn,YouTube, and
