The reporter cited an interview between former President Donald Trump and Elon Musk and asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre whether President Joe Biden should “step in” to stop the “misinformation.”
President Trump joined Musk at a glitch-plagued X/Twitter event on Monday night, calling the two-hour-plus conversation a “total disaster.”
Ahead of that event, Washington Post White House correspondent Cleve Wootson drew laughter at a White House press conference on Monday when he asked whether the president would watch the show.
Wootson later asked about the possibility of “false news” during the interview, asking, “Does the White House or the president have the authority to stop that or stop it from spreading or intervene?”
Cleve Wootson: I…
Jean-Pierre: Oh, I’m so sorry.
Cleve Wootson: It’s okay.
Jean-Pierre: I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.
Cleve Wootson: It’s okay. I have one more thing.
Jean-Pierre: No, please.
Clive Wootson: Elon Musk is going to be interviewing Donald Trump tomorrow, tonight, on X. I don’t know if the president will be watching it. Feel free to say if he will or won’t. (Laughter)
But I don’t think misinformation on Twitter is just a campaign issue. It’s an American issue. What role does the White House or the president have in stopping it or preventing its spread or intervening?
That included misinformation about the election campaign, but it’s a much broader issue, right?
Jean-Pierre: Yes and no. You’ve heard us talk about this a lot, about the responsibility that social media platforms have when it comes to misinformation and disinformation. I don’t have anything to read out here about the specific ways that we’re working on this. But we do believe that they are responsible. And we’re conscious of that, because these are private companies.
But I think it’s really important to get it out there in the open, like you’re doing. I don’t know any specifics about what we’ve been doing internally.
As for interviews, it’s not something I keep track of, and I’m sure the President doesn’t either.
See above from Pool.
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