Pelosi says Facebook is 'lying to the public' by not removing doctored videos
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has no patience left for Facebook.
During an interview with KQED on Wednesday, Pelosi slammed the social media giant for refusing to take down videos that have been clearly doctored, including clips of her slowed down so it sounds like she is slurring her words. These videos are being shared by right-wing sites, as well as President Trump, who tweeted footage that had obviously been manipulated.
"We have said all along, poor Facebook, they were unwittingly exploited by the Russians," Pelosi said. "I think wittingly, because right now they are putting up something that they know is false. I think it's wrong. I can take it ... but [Facebook is] lying to the public." By not taking down videos known to be false, Facebook has proven "that they were willing enablers of the Russian interference in our election," she added.
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Pelosi spoke with KQED not long after Special Counsel Robert Mueller made his remarks about the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, and she shared her concerns over the Department of Justice policy against indicting a sitting president. "I don't know that our founders would have thought that we would have a jury — that would be the Senate — that would be so oblivious to the facts and the truth, a jury that would be an enabler of the crimes," she said.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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