Any and all type of anti-vaxx rhetoric will be permanently removed from Facebook and Instagram to prevent misinformation from diluting factual claims regarding COVID-19 and its vaccines.
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Conspiracy theories counter productive to the eradication of the virus
For months now, Facebook has been on a mission to eliminate all traces of anti-vaxx discourse from spreading further on its platform. Private and public groups had been created aiming to proliferate conspiracy theories ranging from labs and 5G being behind the creation of the virus, microchips infiltrating our bodies through COVID-19 vaccines and the pandemic being responsible for the beginning of a New World Order.
Needless to say, none of the aforementioned theories have been proven or backed up by science. Instead, they have only created confusion, segregation and would only really help in enabling the virus to continue its rampage.
A Facebook spokesperson said about the new measures being taken that:
We are expanding our efforts to remove false claims on Facebook and Instagram about COVID-19, COVID-19 vaccines and vaccines in general during the pandemic. Since December, we've removed false claims about COVID-19 vaccines that have been debunked by public health experts.
Adding that:
Today, following consultations with leading health organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), we are expanding the list of false claims we will remove to include additional debunked claims about the coronavirus and vaccines.
What other topics will prompt an automatic ban?
Adding to the already existing list of topics that Facebook has been filtering through, any subjects centred on the manufacturing of the virus, the lack of effectiveness of the vaccines or its conduciveness to other diseases (namely, autism) will be automatically banned.
The company also said that:
We will begin enforcing this policy immediately, with a particular focus on Pages, groups and accounts that violate these rules, and we'll continue to expand our enforcement over the coming weeks. [We are committed to promote] relevant, authoritative results and provide third-party resources to connect people to expert information about vaccines.
