Facebook plans to remove anti-vaccination conspiracy theories being shared around its app, ahead of the release of the first-ever COVID-19 vaccine.
As we gear up to the release of the jab, a lot of people have been cautious and social media has been circulating unapproved content, spreading false information about the vaccine, which is fuelling peoples’ worries about getting the jab.
Because of this, Facebook has now decided to ban any anti-vaxx posts that are being shared, unless they have been proven as correct information.
The social media app will not only be monitoring the false content on its main site, but on Instagram as well.
Head of Facebook Health, Kang-Xing Jin, has explained that it’s a problem that can’t be fixed overnight, but will be dealt with accordingly.
Kang-Xing Jin said, “Given the recent news that COVID-19 vaccines will soon be rolling out around the world, over the coming weeks we will start removing false claims about these vaccines that have been debunked by public health experts on Facebook and Instagram.”
“We will also remove conspiracy theories about COVID-19 vaccines that we know today are false. We will not be able to start enforcing these policies overnight. Since it’s early and facts about COVID-19 vaccines will continue to evolve, we will regularly update the claims we remove based on guidance from public health authorities as they learn more,” he added.
However, posts that “advocate for or against legislation or government policies around vaccines” will still be allowed.