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Facebook is finally taking a stronger stance on vaccine misinformation. With help from the World Health Organization (WHO), the company has increased the number of claims it will remove from its platform. You can see the full list on its help center, but some of the more notable include claims suggesting COVID-19 is man-made or that it’s safer to get sick from the disease than to get the vaccine. In a big step forward, the company says it will also remove claims that vaccines are toxic or may cause autism.
Facebook’s enforcement actions will initially focus on pages, groups and accounts that break its new rules. The company says it will remove repeat violators. Meanwhile, moderators of groups that have violated Facebook’s policies against COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation in the past will need to approve every post on their page. As an added protection, third-party fact-checkers can always review claims that don’t outright violate company policies on COVID-19 or vaccines. If they are found to be false or misleading, Facebook says it will tag and demote those posts.
“These new policies will help us continue to take aggressive action against misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines,” the company said.
In addition to taking a tougher stance on vaccine misinformation, Facebook says it will simultaneously take additional steps to get people the right information. Like Google, the company will help find out how they can get vaccinated. Starting this week, Facebook’s COVID-19 clearinghouse will include links to local health authorities who have details on their websites for who can get the vaccine right now, as well as how to go about it. to get one. As this information becomes more widely available elsewhere, Facebook will share this information in other countries, in addition to making the information hub available through Instagram.
To complement these efforts, the company will donate $ 120 million in advertising credits to public health agencies, NGOs and the United Nations, and provide these organizations with training and support in their work to disseminate authoritative information.
Historically, Facebook’s efforts to reduce vaccine misinformation on its platforms have been mostly ineffective due to the company refraining from banning this type of content altogether. Even with Facebook referring people to authoritative sources, accounts promoting conspiracy theories and inaccurate information have dominated its search results page.
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