Facebook Inc said on Monday that it would remove groups, pages and accounts that repeatedly share the debunked claims about the coronavirus and vaccine.
The social media company said in a blog post it was increasing the types of false claims that it will remove such as about COVID, its vaccine and other vaccines, including that COVID-19 is a man-made virus, and that vaccines are dangerous. Such claims are already prohibited in ads on the platform.
The company has introduced tighter policies to combat COVID-19 vaccine misinformation during the pandemic, but has had a more hands-off approach to misinformation about other vaccines, which has rarely been removed and only when it was considered to risk “imminent harm”.
In December, Facebook announced it would remove false claims about COVID-19 vaccines that had been debunked by public health experts, though in recent weeks news reports have identified Facebook pages, groups and Instagram accounts still spreading these false claims.
Facebook also said it would help users find out where and when they can receive the coronavirus vaccine.
It will partner with Johns Hopkins and the AARP to reach Black, Latinx, Native Americans and people over 50 with educational content that addresses concerns those groups may have about the new vaccine.
