Social networks toughen the moderation of pro-hydroxychloroquine content

Dressed in their white coats, a dozen doctors follow one another in front of a microphone to praise hydroxychloroquine and ask the authorities to let them prescribe the drug. The footage, which took place in front of the US Supreme Court in Washington, was originally captured and posted by the far-right outlet Breitbart News . It instantly went viral and convinced two prominent figures: Donald Trump and his son, Donald Trump Jr, who shared it on their Twitter accounts.

Read also: Hydroxychloroquine "long term" does not protect serious forms of Covid-19, according to a study

The response of the social network was not long in coming. The excerpt posted on the US president's account, as well as several links to the video posted Monday, were deleted by Twitter in quick succession. The platform also applied restrictive measures to the account of Donald Trump Jr, arguing that the video did not respect the rules of the social network and could be considered as a " sharing of false information on the Covid-19 ". The eldest son of the American president had his account suspended for 12 hours.

YouTube and Facebook then followed in Twitter's footsteps and chased this controversial video from the “America's Frontline Doctors” collective. " We have deleted this video which shares false information on COVID-19 treatments ", said Andy Stone, spokesperson for Mark Zuckerberg's social network.

"You don't need masks"

The drug based on hydroxychloroquine combined with zinc has been the subject of controversy for several months. In June, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), responsible for authorizing the marketing of food products and drugs, withdrew the emergency authorization for hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19. In particular, she cited randomized studies which point to potentially severe effects on the health of patients, without the efficacy of the treatment having been demonstrated elsewhere.

“ I have the impression that this debate has become political. I don't understand , ” Donald Trump explained at a press conference following the removal of the video from his Twitter account. " I think they are very respected doctors ."

The group “ America's Frontline Doctors ” was formed recently, around several scientists skeptical about the measures recommended by the American authorities to counter the epidemic of coronavirus. Their speech before the Supreme Court, a real media stunt, was supported by the Tea Party, a conservative organization supporting President Trump. One of the doctors in the video, Stella Immanuel, speaks in particular: “ you don't need masks. There is treatment. No, we don't need to confine people. Prevention is there, and treatment is there. The video has attracted supporters of hydroxychloroquine but also anti-mask or anti-vaccine groups, active on Facebook.

But doubts have emerged as to the scientific credibility of the collective “America's Frontline Doctors”. Stella Immanuel has defended in the past that American politicians are " half human, half extraterrestrial ". The americasfrontlinedoctors.com site, created by the group on July 15, is currently inaccessible.

Difficult to contain

The removal of the video from Donald Trump's Twitter account is one more episode in the standoff between the president and the social network, which is his privileged means of expression. A few months before the US presidential election, Twitter has undertaken not to let any tweet pass that could violate its charter. Several messages from the president were deleted because they were considered “ false information ”.

In its moderation charter, Twitter has more specifically adopted a specific rule concerning content promoting hydroxychloroquine. It is thus indicated that the tweets which contain " allegations made by people pretending to be a government or a health official and affirming that hydroxychloroquine will prevent COVID-19 " must be deleted.

The rapid reaction of the various platforms did not prevent the video from going viral. It thus continues to be shared by accounts very active on this subject. This is also the first content offered by Twitter by searching for the hashtag "#Hydroxychloroquine". The platform has indicated that it is continuing its efforts to remove this content.