MSNBC host Joe Scarborough blamed Facebook for spreading lies about everything from the pandemic to politics, calling the social media giant “a malignant force across the globe.”
Scarborough devoted an entire segment of Friday’s “Morning Joe” to a rant calling for regulation that would break up Facebook’s monopoly and stop the dissemination of the type of disinformation that he said led to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. (RELATED: ‘Beyond Grotesque’: Joe Scarborough Flames Fox News Over Newt Gingrich Claim That Democrats Want To ‘Exterminate’ Republicans)
WATCH:
Scarborough began by saying that Facebook’s algorithms were designed to cater to extreme views and to push people toward radicalization rather than away from it.
Calling for Facebook to be regulated and broken apart, Scarborough continued, “Facebook is a monopoly. It controls over 50 percent of news gathering, and they are reckless as hell! There is no accountability! And they are destroying not just American democracy, they’re destroying democracy across the globe. They are actually working with tyrannical governments to help chase out freedom fighters in certain countries. They are a malignant force across the globe!”
Scarborough then pivoted to blame Facebook directly for the Capitol riots, saying that the platform had been instrumental in allowing the spread of lies about not just the 2020 presidential election but politics in general.
“Facebook has been spreading these lies that get cops killed! Facebook has been spreading these lies that gets the United States Capitol sacked! Facebook has been spreading these lies that get police officers bludgeoned almost to death with an American flag!” he said.
“They are anti-competitive. They are anti-democratic. They are bad for America,” Scarborough concluded, calling for an end to Section 230 protections and arguing that Americans had to be able to sue Facebook.