Facebook and Twitter crack down as Donald Trump claims Covid-19 less deadly than flu

Social networks have cracked down on misinformation about coronavirus, targeting a Donald Trump post claiming Covid-19 is less deadly than flu.

A Facebook post, which was removed under the social network's anti-misinformation rules, claimed: "Flu season is coming up! Many people every year, sometimes over 100,000, and despite the Vaccine, die from Flu.

"Are we going to close down our country? No, we have learned to live with it, just like we are learning to live with Covid, in most populations far less lethal!!!"

Twitter added a note to the same post on their platform noting that it was misinformation.

Among reported COVID-19 cases in the US, nearly 6% have died - some 210,000 people this year.

In comparison, the death rate of seasonal Flu is around 0.1%. Covid-19 has killed more Americans than the last five years' worth of Flu.

During the 2019-20 Flu season, there were just 22,000 Flu-related deaths in the United States.

Meanwhile, Facebook announced that it had classified the QAnon conspiracy theory movement as dangerous and began removing Facebook groups and pages as well as Instagram accounts that hold themselves out as representatives.

The step escalates an August policy that banned a third of QAnon groups for promoting violence while allowing most to stay, albeit with content appearing less often in news feeds.

Instead of relying on user reports, Facebook staff now will seek out and delete the groups and pages, the company said in a blog post.