Twitter, Facebook block Trump post for COVID-19 misinformation

Facebook and Twitter blocked a post shared by President Trump for breaking their rules against spreading COVID-19 misinformation. Yahoo Finance's Dan Howley and Kristin Myers discuss.

Video Transcript

KRISTIN MYERS: Well, Twitter and Facebook have actually blocked Trump. [? That, ?] of course, they are citing misinformation on the coronavirus.

So for more on this, we're joined now by our favorite Yahoo Finance [? "techspert" ?] Dan Howley. Hey, Dan.

DAN HOWLEY: Hey, Kristin. Yes, it's not just Facebook and Twitter though. YouTube also blocking a video posted by the Trump campaign basically saying that the coronavirus has no impact on children and that children are virtually immune to its effects. This was something that Trump had said during a Fox News segment. The Team Trump Twitter handle then went and ran with it, posting it on Twitter. It was also posted on Facebook, as you said. And then on the YouTube page for the Trump campaign, which has a smaller presence, it was also posted.

All three of those networks have taken that video down. They temporarily blocked the Team Trump campaign on Twitter from posting, all of this because obviously the coronavirus does impact children, and we've seen the effects that it can have.

And this goes directly against the policies that Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have set up surrounding the coronavirus, basically saying that you cannot spread misinformation about the virus, especially if it could lead to real-world harm. And that's exactly what they're saying could result from something like this.

The argument here was part of Trump's push for schools to reopen, essentially saying that if children are unaffected by it, then there's no reason for schools to open. And obviously Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube certainly not agreeing with that stance.