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Facebook Struggles to Stop Misinformation; Virginia Governor's Race Polls; Delta Launches Facial Recognition Braves Take Game One. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired October 27, 2021 - 06:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[06:30:00]

MARK ZUCKERBERG, CEO, FACEBOOK: I think that overall both of these sides of the equation, the showing of authoritative information and limiting the spread of misinformation are incredibly important.

A lot of work has gone into this. We've gotten a lot better at this over the last few years as a company.

There were hoaxes that have been spreading online for weeks saying if you drink bleach then that can help cure the coronavirus. So we go ahead and we take that content down.

There have been thousands of examples of content like that that we've had to take down

SHERYL SANDBERG, COO, FACEBOOK: We've now put warning labels on taken information down on tens of millions of people of pieces of content. And I think even more importantly we've pushed about 2 billion people to accurate health information.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now, as they were saying this internally, a lot more was playing out inside the company.

Take a look at this report from I think May in 2020. Somebody wrote, for weeks now the most active -- the most active civic groups in the U.S. on Facebook have been the hundreds of anti- quarantine groups in addition to the standard set that have been most active for months or years Trump 2020, Tucker Carlson.

So that tells us two things. One, the most active civic groups on Facebook, in that critical period early in this pandemic, were anti- lockdown fueled by misinformation. But, two, the most active groups in general, civic groups in general on the platform, are groups devoted to fans of Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: That is fascinating.

Davey, first of all, so great to have you both here. I feel like we have so much reporting heft -- Facebook reporting heft here in one place. What's the takeaway from this?

DAVEY ALBA, TECHNOLOGY REPORTER, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": I mean, I think it's not that surprising that we're seeing this research come out of Facebook. It's stuff that we've observed in reporting over the last year. Plus, during the pandemic and into the election that these comments exist on Facebook. These posts with misinformation are pretty rampant and they go viral. And, you know, it's just, you know, finally there's evidence of it.

BERMAN: Is it an issue -- I'm sorry. Is part of the issue that it's happening a lot in the comment section, as opposed to the affirmative posts?

ALBA: Totally. Yes. So, what we see in our reporting is that the posts themselves often will walk the line in terms of violating Facebook's misinformation policies. But in the comments, that's where you see the actual misinformation explicitly discussed.

So, you know, Facebook struggles a lot with policing the comment section and it's because their AI isn't really good at language detection and context. So when people look at these posts, it might pose a question like, what about bleach as a, you know, solution to COVID? And then since it's a question, it's not quite violating the misinformation policies of Facebook. But in the comments section you'll see people trading tips on how to acquire bleach and how to ingest it and things like that.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: You know, I think, you know, we look at what's going on here. You want to be careful about blaming Facebook for the -- all of the ills of all of the information. But, clearly, Facebook fertilizes this, right?

And they're having a very big credibility issue when they're not acknowledging the problem, when they're saying one thing publicly and another thing privately, it really does make you wonder, do they have a handle on the problem? And, yes, this is a problem because they're not being honest about it.

O'SULLIVAN: You know, one of the big talking points Facebook has early on -- and, look, I mean, we should acknowledge here, Facebook has done a lot more on COVID-19, tackling that, than they have on other issues. They've been more definitive and acting quicker on COVID than they have say on election issues. But, still, you can see there are so many problems.

One thing they started doing very early in the pandemic was they gave free ads to organizations, like the World Health Organization and UNICEF to push accurate information about COVID out onto the platform. But an internal comment -- an internal post in March 2021, somebody mentioned that UNICEF and World Health Organization actually stopped for a period using those free ads because the comment sections under those posts would be ravaged by anti-vaccine COVID conspiracy theories. Now, neither UNICEF nor the World Health Organization have gotten back

to us on that and Facebook has said thus -- that these organizations have been using the ads.

But it just gives you a sense that, you know, even when they tried to put in these policies where they say, yes, we'll give the World Health Organization free ads, it then gets flooded with anti-vaccine misinformation.

KEILAR: Yes. Look, it's -- this is tough. This is tough stuff to figure out, but they have to admit the problem in order to move towards the solution, right?

BERMAN: Yes.

KEILAR: Donie, Davey, great to see you. Great to have you guys together.

O'SULLIVAN: Thank you.

KEILAR: Thank you so much.

Coming up, we're going to speak with the author whose book inspired the movie "The Social Network." Why he says the film portrayed Mark Zuckerberg exactly right.

BERMAN: Plus, President Biden appearing to call Virginia's Republican gubernatorial candidate an extremist. What's behind this strategy?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:39:21]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Extremism can come in many forms. Can come in the rage of a mob driven to assault -- driven to assault the Capitol. It can come in a smile and a fleece vest. Either way, the big lie is still a big lie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: That is President Biden campaigning for Democrat Terry McAuliffe in Virginia. This is ahead of next week's closely watched gubernatorial election. So what Biden was doing there, the fleece vest and the smile, he is referring to the Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin.

Now, we will discuss later in the broadcast is it fair to call Youngkin an extremist.

[06:40:02]

But what is -- the president is trying to do there is connect Youngkin to Donald Trump. Why?

Joining us now, CNN's senior data reporter Harry Enten.

There's an answer to why.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: There's always an answer to why, and sometimes we're blessed to actually get numbers to tell us why.

Donald Trump's net popularity rating in Virginia, look here. This guy, not very popular. Among likely voters, minus 9 points. He's under water. Among registered voters in the latest Fox News poll, look at that, minus 18 points. So this isn't just about converting people who have already decided to vote, it's also potentially trying to pull some Democrats off the sidelines and say, Glenn Youngkin is like Donald Trump. You should come out and vote. And we have seen, in some of the Virginia polling so far, a gap between the registered voters who are more favorable to McAuliffe than the likely voters, where we see a much closer race.

BERMAN: The more they can make Youngkin like this guy, the better off Biden thinks McAuliffe may be.

ENTEN: Correct.

BERMAN: Now, that's Trump's popularity.

ENTEN: Exactly.

BERMAN: How's Joe Biden doing in Virginia?

ENTEN: Yes. A little better, but also under water. And you can see the tread line here. You know, back in August, remember, this is a state that Joe Biden won by 10 points last go around, last November. He was at plus 1 point in August, then dropped to minus four point -- minus one point in September. And then, look at this, minus four points in october. That's more popular than the former president, but it's not that much more popular. So basically you get McAuliffe trying to trod out Youngkin's least popular guy that he can be tied to because Youngkin has been trying to tie Terry McAuliffe to this guy, who's currently in the White House, who's not that popular either.

BERMAN: So, political consultants who make more than both of us doing these races will look at this and say --

ENTEN: In an hour.

BERMAN: This is a trend line right here.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: So the race overall in Virginia, where is that trending?

ENTEN: Yes, that's a trend line. And, look, the horse race is trending in a similar fashion. Look, this is the Virginia governor's race. The vote share, margin of polls, Terry McAuliffe two months ago had a five-point lead. Three-point lead. Now two-point lead. That's going hand in hand with Joe Biden becoming less popular. Terry McAuliffe's lead has been shrinking. And now that lead is well within the margin of error. And I, you know, really put that out there. Yes, I would slightly favor Terry McAuliffe at this point but I mean slightly. This race is really far to close to call.

BERMAN: Now, you were talking about Trump. We're talking about Biden. What are the issues that seem to be driving this?

ENTEN: Yes, you know, I think the issue is here, look at this, the most important issue in deciding your vote, that jobs and the economy, way up as an important issue. Look at that, now 27 percent say that that's the most important issue. That's up from, look, 21 percent in September. Education and schools, something that Glenn Youngkin has been hammering in on. Look at this -- as issue of importance -- up from 14 percent in September to 21 percent now.

Coronavirus, which traditionally has been a pretty good Democratic issue, look at that, dropping from 18 percent saying it's the most important issue in September, to just 11 percent now.

So, what you're essentially seeing is the issue which I think this will give you a pretty good idea on. Look at this. Look at this. Who do you trust more on the jobs and the economy? An issue that's gaining importance. Youngkin by five. Education and schools? An issue that Youngkin has been driving. Look at that, basically a dead heat, plus one. And the COVID pandemic, which has been dropping as an important issue, McAuliffe, plus six.

But I should point out, John, you remember, we were hanging out, we weren't in flesh New Year's last year but we were still hanging out virtually, the COVID pandemic, Joe Biden was holding like 20, 30-point leads on who was more trusted on that issue compared to Donald Trump. That has just dropped to plus six points. So even the best issue for McAuliffe really isn't that large of a lead.

BERMAN: So, Virginia, New Jersey next week. Why do we care about these weird year elections?

ENTEN: Well, first off, my heart was left in Virginia. Notice I dropped (INAUDIBLE) for a minute.

Look at this, the party of Virginia governor winner gains House seats in the next midterm since 1977 eight out of 11 times. What we know from these races, specifically in Virginia and New Jersey to a lesser extent is, if you win in Virginia, the next go around, you tend to do well in House races. It doesn't always work out, but this is a real reason why Virginia tends to be a bellwether.

Also we'll be looking at Joe Biden's net favorability or approval rating in the exiting polls. If that is under water, it's going to be a bad year most likely for Democrats next go round.

BERMAN: Harry Enten, thank you for coming in.

ENTEN: Thank you, sir.

BERMAN: Appreciate it. So, one of the actors on "Rust" speaking out for the first time. Plus,

why criminal charges are not being ruled out in the shooting that involved Alec Baldwin.

KEILAR: And the way you travel through security at the airport could be about to change. Delta is now testing out some new technology that could significantly reduce wait times. And we have a preview.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:49:00]

KEILAR: Air travel is returning to what it was before the pandemic, if you can believe. TSA numbers are now 85 percent of what they were in 2019. But you know what that also means? That means delays, cancelations and lines. They are all back. And now there is new tech to cut down on all that time that you lose to waiting.

And CNN's Pete Muntean is live for us at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to tell us all about it.

What is this new tech, Pete?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, this is new technology from Delta. And it eliminates the need for fumbling with your boarding pass and ID by using facial recognition technology. Passengers here in Atlanta can use it starting next month. And it's coming just in time for what's expected to be a huge holiday travel season.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MUNTEAN (voice over): For the first time, your next flight could be unlocked by facial recognition technology, starting at bag check, going through security, and all the way to the gate.

[06:50:02]

MUNTEAN (on camera): Success.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're welcome to board.

MUNTEAN (voice over): The new partnership between Delta Air Lines and the Transportation Security Administration aims to save passengers time as people are flooding back to airports.

RANJAN GOSWAMI, DELTA AIR LINES: And really hopefully reduce stress and increase the speed at which people traverse through the airport.

MUNTEAN: Delta's Ranjan Goswami showed me how the system worked at bag check. He says what typically takes two minutes and 30 seconds is now down to 30 seconds. He says the process of verifying your identity at a TSA checkpoint is now down to only six seconds.

GOSWAMI: I think the timing could not be more perfect in many ways because, you're right, more and more regular travelers are coming back to travel.

MUNTEAN: The trial will start at Delta's busiest hub, at first for those in Delta's Frequent Flyer Program who also have TSA Precheck. Passport and visa photos in a federal database are compared with your live photo. The TSA insists that file is immediately destroyed, upping security from cyberthreats and hacks.

JESSICA MAYLE, TSA SPOKESWOMAN: We've definitely taken privacy considerations into account the whole way. If somebody does not want to participate, they do not have to opt-in and participant. They really have that choose if they want to have the experience.

MUNTEAN: American Airlines is also trying facial recognition at its DFW terminal lounges, but industry experts think that using the technology, form the moment you arrive at the airport, could cut the time you spend waiting in half.

HENRY HARTEVELDT, TRAVEL INDUSTRY EXPERT: If we see the TSA get that kind of an increase in productivity, long airport security lines could be a thing of the past.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MUNTEAN: Delta is also using some of this technology in Detroit and it says others hubs could come online soon. But this will be really put to the test here in Atlanta. Delta anticipates serving 2.5 million people here alone, more than 40 percent of all of its passengers airline wide during the Thanksgiving travel period.

Brianna.

KEILAR: Fascinating stuff.

Pete, thank you so much.

The Braves, formerly of Boston, Berman, we'll be happy to remind you, draw first --

BERMAN: The formerly Boston Braves.

KEILAR: Formerly in Boston. No longer. But they draw the first blood in the World Series. Game one win over the Astros. Coming, though, at a price. We'll have details in the "Bleacher Report."

BERMAN: You are really good at this.

KEILAR: I pay attention.

BERMAN: And then regifting and it feels so good. The Tampa Bay fan who received and then returned Tom Brady's historic 600 career touchdown pass. The slightly wealthier man will join us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:56:43] KEILAR: The Atlanta Braves, formerly of Boston, taking down the Houston Astros in game one of the World Series. But the victory, oh, it comes at a steep price here.

Coy Wire has this morning's "Bleacher Report."

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning.

KEILAR: He'll never let me forget that, Coy, Berman.

WIRE: Don't let Berman steal Atlanta's shine. Good morning to you, Brianna.

The Atlanta Braves are trying to pull off one of the greatest runs in the history of baseball. They lost their best player due to injury in July. Didn't have a winning record until August 6th. But here they are starting with a bang.

In their first World Series since 1999 and with the very first swing of this series, Jorge Soler making history, the first batter ever to lead off a World Series with a home run. And from there the hits and runs kept on coming, Brianna. The Braves opened up a 5-0 lead in the first three innings. They go on to win it, 6-2.

Unfortunately, it wasn't all good news for Atlanta. Starting pitcher Charlie Morton, you'll see him here, hit in the leg in the second inning on a come-backer from Yuli Gurriel. He tried to pitch through the pain and actually did for some time quite well. He just couldn't manage any longer. The Braves later announced that x-rays revealed he had a broken right leg and this would end his World Series.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

A.J. MINTER, ATLANTA BRAVES PITCHER: It hurts losing Charlie. I mean what he's been to this team all year, I mean, everyone knows Charlie. His career is -- he's a hero in the post-season. So it's definitely a blow losing him in game one. But if you've been watching us all year, I mean, we've just been answering the bell and overcoming adversity all year. So we're just going to treat it the same way. Next guy up.

BRIAN SNITKER, ATLANTA BRAVES MANAGER: I really hate it for him because I know he was really looking forward to this run with us. And so we'll move on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: All right, game two set for later tonight in Houston. Then the series shifts here to Atlanta this weekend for games three, four and five.

And, Brianna, John, fun side note, because the Braves stole a base in the first inning, America gets a free taco. Steal a base, get -- steal a taco from Taco Bell. That's next Thursday if you're hungry.

KEILAR: That's awesome. BERMAN: I'm going to have to wait a few hours because I had three empanadas for breakfast this morning. That's a totally different story.

KEILAR: He did. He really did.

That's amazing that Charlie Morton, though, walking on -- walking off on a broken leg.

BERMAN: He pitched -- he pitched with a broken leg.

KEILAR: He pitched on a broken leg, walks off on a broken leg. What a performance for the Braves. But, man, ouch.

WIRE: Yes. And he actually struck a couple batters out. Did really well. This team seems to rally through adversity. We'll see if it galvanizes them even more.

BERMAN: I was thinking about Jack Youngblood, the Rams player who played a football game on a broken leg. This is different and Morton had to come out. But, still, showed a lot of strength and perseverance there. Sorry to see him out of the series.

WIRE: Yes.

BERMAN: Thanks so much, Coy.

WIRE: You got it.

KEILAR: And NEW DAY continues right now.

BERMAN: All right, welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. It is Wednesday, October 27th.

Intense, scary, and too real. That's how an actor from the film "Rust" describes how he felt during the film's shooting scenes. Ian Hudson is speaking out for the first time since Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer on the set.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IAN A. HUDSON, "RUST" ACTOR: When the rounds were released, when they were shot at me, I actually did feel the blanks hitting my face and my body. And I could feel the wind from the shotgun, you know, being discharged.

[07:00:01]

It was heavy. It was strong. I would talk to my fellow cast members afterwards.