Facebook VP Says Doctored Nancy Pelosi Video Won't Be Taken Down So Viewers Can Make 'Informed' Decisions

A spokeswoman for Facebook repeatedly defended the company’s inaction regarding the removal of a doctored video on its platform that makes Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi appear intoxicated or otherwise impaired. The video has been viewed more than 2 million times on Facebook alone.

Monika Bickert, a Facebook vice president, vigorously defended the social media platform during an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper. Bickert admitted Facebook has the capability to detect fake accounts and has removed 3.39 billion such accounts from October to March, in an effort to keep the platform “safe.” She also said the company has not taken down the doctored Pelosi video because the company is committed to individuals making their own “informed” decisions.

Bickert said fake accounts are more likely than accounts tied to real people to spread misinformation and confirmed that more than 80% of the fake accounts removed were engaging in some form of criminal activity or the spread of misinformation. Cooper pressed Bickert on the platform’s responsibility as a news business to shun the distribution of known misinformation.

Bickert argued that Facebook is not in the news business but rather the social media business. Cooper countered that the company made money from the distribution of news on the site and as such needed to “do it right.”

“We have a site where people can come and share what they think, what is important to them, the news that they find relevant, and when they do that we want to make sure that they have access to accurate information,” Bickert said.

“But when we’re talking about political discourse and misinformation around that, we think the right approach is to let people make an informed choice,” she added.

“So,” Cooper interrupted, “somebody makes a video about President Trump and slows it down and makes it seem like he’s drunk, which he’s never had a drink in his life, that’s O.K. with you, if that video is on and it makes people believe that the Commander in Chief is impaired with alcohol — that’s O.K. on Facebook?”

“No,” Bickert replied, and then reiterated a fake account would be taken down, information that presented safety issues would be taken down, but an authentic actor posting misinformation may do so, and despite employing more than 50 fact-checking organizations across the globe, Facebook would allow the misinformation to stand.

Bickert had earlier indicated the company might reduce the frequency of appearance of misinformation, or somehow note the content was inauthentic but would allow it to remain on the platform and continue to be distributed by authentic actors. Facebook notified users that the Pelosi video is inauthentic.

“Once the video was fact-checked as false, we dramatically reduced its distribution,” a Facebook spokesperson told the Verge. “Speed is critical to this system, and we continue to improve our response. People who see the video in feed, try to share it from feed, or already shared it are alerted that it’s false.”

President Trump on Thursday retweeted the video. When asked Friday about the doctored video, he said, “Well, I don’t know about the videos. I can tell you that I’m here to help the country. That’s why I did this.”