This list includes claims that the coronavirus was created by people or that it is safer to get the virus than to get the vaccine. There are also false claims that the vaccines are toxic or cause autism.
Critics of the social media giant’s management of misinformation were skeptical of the new announcement.
“Facebook has been promising to crack down on COVID and anti-vaccine misinformation since last year,” the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a nonprofit organization that works to combat manifestations of digital hate, said in a message broadcast on Twitter.
Groups or accounts that share misinformation about the coronavirus or related topics will be removed indefinitely, Facebook warned. Discredited information about vaccines or the pandemic is already banned from advertisements on the social network.
The leaders of the groups are asked that, before sharing publications of members prone to spreading false news, they demand that they be credited information.
On Facebook-owned Instagram, it will be more difficult to find accounts of people who discourage vaccination against covid-19 using automated search tools, according to the social network.
Facebook also announced that it has received more than 50 million responses to a survey on COVID-19 that it launched last year in collaboration with two American universities.
The consultation was designed to collect information from people about the symptoms of the disease, the use of masks and access to health care.
“The survey program is one of the largest ever conducted and has helped health researchers better monitor and forecast the spread of COVID-19. The survey data will provide a better understanding of trends in acceptance of the survey. vaccine in sociodemographic, racial, geographic terms and more. “
The findings of the survey on vaccine attitudes will be shared globally, the social network said.
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