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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Facebook to remove false Covid-19 vaccine claims

Facebook to remove false Covid-19 vaccine claims

Published Dec 4, 2020 08:30 am

Facebook on Thursday said it would remove posts containing false claims about the Covid-19 vaccine as it tries to manage the flow of disinformation on its platform.

(FILES) In this file photo taken on March 25, 2020 in this photo illustration a Facebook App logo is displayed on a smartphone in Arlington, Virginia. - Facebook on August 10, 2020 said it has created a new unit devoted to financial services to harmonize payment systems on its platform. (Photo by Olivier DOULIERY / AFP)
(Photo by Olivier DOULIERY / AFP / MANILA BULLETIN)

The social media giant regularly removes incorrect and potentially harmful information about the virus and has since October banned advertisements discouraging people from getting vaccinations that could end the pandemic.

"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," the company said in a blog post.

"This could include false claims about the safety, efficacy, ingredients or side effects of the vaccines," including "false claims that COVID-19 vaccines contain microchips, or anything else that isn't on the official vaccine ingredient list" as well as "conspiracy theories" that have been proven false, Facebook said.

The company said the criteria of posts it considers eligible removal will change based on "guidance from public health authorities as they learn more."

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