Bulletins

Facebook will remove misinformation about all vaccines

The company announced in a blog post that it is broadening its crackdown on vaccine misinformation to include not just misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine that's been debunked by public health experts, but all misinformation related to vaccines.

Facebook is also adding a new slew of false claims about the vaccine to a list of forbidden content. Some of those false claims include posting that it's safer to get COVID-19 than it is to get the vaccine or arguing that COVID-19 is man-made. Pages, groups and accounts that repeatedly violate those rules will be at risk of removal from the platform.

In addition to these changes, starting this week in the U.S., Facebook will direct users to information about whether they're eligible to get vaccinated, through its COVID-19 Information Center. The company said that as more information becomes available, it plans to expand this feature so that people can find "where and when they can get vaccinated in just a few taps." Facebook also plans to expand the tool to more countries and is giving away $120 million in ad credits to government agencies and NGOs who want to spread information about the vaccine through ads.

Issie Lapowsky

Issie Lapowsky ( @issielapowsky) is Protocol's chief correspondent, covering the intersection of technology, politics, and national affairs. She also oversees Protocol's fellowship program. Previously, she was a senior writer at Wired, where she covered the 2016 election and the Facebook beat in its aftermath. Prior to that, Issie worked as a staff writer for Inc. magazine, writing about small business and entrepreneurship. She has also worked as an on-air contributor for CBS News and taught a graduate-level course at New York University's Center for Publishing on how tech giants have affected publishing.

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