Facebook on Thursday said it will be removing user content about COVID-19 vaccines that the company disagrees with, including information about possible side effects.
The social networking company says that information not supported by public health experts will be removed if discredited by the World Health Organization, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Facebook has an increasingly aggressive method of removing or arguing with posts involving elections, when Facebook disagrees with the opinion or analysis. During the recent presidential election, the company has continued to post contrary information at the bottom of nearly every post by President Donald Trump, even ones as simple as wishing people a Happy Thanksgiving or to promote the White House Christmas decorations.
Now, Facebook is serving as the clearinghouse for information on vaccines for COVID-19:
“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.
“This is another way that we are applying our policy to remove misinformation about the virus that could lead to imminent physical harm. This could include false claims about the safety, efficacy, ingredients or side effects of the vaccines. For example, we will remove false claims that COVID-19 vaccines contain microchips, or anything else that isn’t on the official vaccine ingredient list.
“We will also remove conspiracy theories about COVID-19 vaccines that we know today are false: like specific populations are being used without their consent to test the vaccine’s safety.
“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.
“We will also continue to help people stay informed about these vaccines by promoting authoritative sources of information through our COVID-19 Information Center.”
Wow…Mother face book has spoken to those who use or rely on them for information or instruction on how to live their lives….why anyone would do such a thing is beyond me but there seems to be a bunch of low information folk that so..!!
Exactly! Get your information elsewhere. Why would anyone rely on FB for anything important?
I am increasingly convinced that a significant percentage of our population today is not just passively, but eagerly, willing to surrender their privacy, their freedoms and any shred of independence in favor of being led and controlled in every aspect of their lives.
Just brotherly love…Big Brother. Don’t worry.
Why does anyone, anyone still use that overtly fascist and privacy-destroying online Gestapo? Oh, wait, that’s right: “convenience”. The road to Hell, I am convinced, is not paved with good intentions nearly as much as it is with putative “convenience”.
Social media started as an easy way for college students to communicate with each other. Then it grew into a way for everyone keep in touch with all their family and friends, without needing to do it one on one.
Then it got monetized, and your personal lives became a commodity.
Facebook’s latest action is a feeble attempt in damage control, to help keep subscribers from complaining too loudly, which would increase the odds of even more fed regulations. Their bottom line is generating revenue, one click at a time. They actively seek the most cost-effective business model, and have no honest sense of social responsibility.
I use the internet with my computer, but have never allowed my cell-phone on the net.
At the moment, Must Read Alaska’s comment section is my only “social media”.
You can always delete your Facebook and Instagram accounts, it’s not like its actually made you closer with friends, relatives, and neighbors to increasing your sense of community from 2004.
I agree….I deleted my FB account right after the election…..
Not sure if Trump can remove Facebook’s Section 230 protections by executive order, but if he can I hope he considers doing it fast!
Try arguing with a face book addict to reduce their dependence on it for everything, from news to neighborhood scandal. They, the fb addicts, think their very survival depends on it. Almost a cult. Some have turned over their entire existence to the ‘gospel’ of face book. Damn shame. Between fb and smartphones, there is no need for a brain anymore. Most who feel that way will brook no compromises or dissent, either. Kids are being robbed of their childhood by “social” media. Independent thinking is abnormal.
“Down, I say Down, with face book”. (quote from foghorn leghorn)
The vaccine will have far reaching side effects and there will be some deaths because of it, that is a fact. Indisputable fact.
The same as the flu “vaccine” has killed millions of willing participants since its inception in 1921. And this jump in covid cases, I am convinced, is from everyone getting that darned flu shot
Facebook is a private company and they can do as they please. I’m amazed that anyone uses FB. Why do people give up their privacy to sign up with them? Ego trips, I guess.. people assuming that their lives are so very important and interesting that others will want to read about them.
Senator Ted Cruz (R) TX is right — social media is evil.
FB needs to lose its protections under Section 230, since Zuckerberg et al want to insist on acting like a publisher with editorial controls.
Are we still hanging around at Facebook? I heard everyone was moving to Parler and Rumble. I admit I still have a Facebook account, but I don’t social network on it. Just send freedom-loving articles and memes to my account to sit there for Zuckerburg and his minions to look at.
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