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Facebook announced on Thursday that it would remove posts containing claims about Covid-19 vaccines that have been debunked by public health experts, as the social network acts more aggressively to tackle coronavirus misinformation as lies are rampant.
The move goes beyond how Facebook had handled misinformation about other types of vaccines. The company previously made it harder to find misinformation about vaccines that were unrelated to the coronavirus by “ranking them down,” essentially making them less visible in people’s news feeds.
But Facebook said it plans to completely suppress the lies of the Covid-19 vaccine if the claims have been discredited or contradicted by health groups such as the World Health Organization, the United States Food and Drug Administration. and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“This is another way we apply our policy to eliminate misinformation about the virus that could lead to imminent physical damage,” the company said in a blog post. “This could include false claims about the safety, efficacy, ingredients, or side effects of vaccines.”
Facebook added that it would also remove “false claims that Covid-19 vaccines contain microchips, or anything else that is not on the official vaccine ingredient list.”
The social network has long hesitated to delve into the space responsible for determining what is true or false on its platform. Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, has made it clear that he “doesn’t want to be the arbiter of the truth” of what is posted on the site.
But Mr Zuckerberg has also played an active role in combating the spread of disinformation about coronaviruses. Facebook has created new products and tools to educate the public about the potential dangers of the virus. Mr Zuckerberg sent an email to Dr Anthony Fauci, America’s leading infectious disease specialist, as early march to offer help in the fight against the virus. Dr Fauci has since participated in several live Facebook interviews with Mr Zuckerberg.
Due to the novelty of Covid-19 vaccines, all false claims cannot be immediately removed, Facebook said. The social network said it also plans to continue sending people to its Covid-19 information center, which has verified and up-to-date information on the virus.
Facebook’s decision to remove misinformation related to vaccines is not without precedent. The company had previously removed the misinformation about the polio vaccine in Pakistan, as well as the misinformation about the measles vaccine in Samoa during disease outbreaks.
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