Facebook will start putting labels on all posts about coronavirus vaccines that point users to “official information” while the gigantic social media company works to respond to criticisms that it has allowed the proliferation of erroneous vaccine information on its platform.
The company said on Monday in a blog that it has already started adding labels to posts that discuss the safety of coronavirus vaccines. The labels direct users to Facebook’s Covid-19 Information Center, which includes “trusted information” from the World Health Organization and will also appear on Facebook owned by Facebook.
In the coming weeks, Facebook said it plans to add labels to all posts generally about coronavirus vaccines that will refer users around the world to its COVID-19 Information Center. More targeted labels on the subtopics of the coronavirus vaccine will be added to other posts.
In addition, a screen will appear when someone tries to share a post about coronavirus vaccines on Facebook and Instagram that “will provide more information so that people have the context they need to make informed decisions about what to share”.
The company will also take a number of “temporary measures” designed to curb “potentially harmful” misinformation of coronaviruses and vaccines, including restricting the reach of content from users who have already violated Facebook policies about incorrect information about coronaviruses or repeatedly shared content “unmasked as fake or Altered. ”Restrictions will also apply to coronavirus or vaccine content classified as“ Missing Context ”by Facebook’s third-party fact verification partners.
Users who repeatedly violate Facebook’s policies will be removed from the platform, the company said.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg also announced on Monday that the company is launching a global campaign to help people gain access to the coronavirus vaccine. The initiative includes the launch of a tool that shows users when and where they can receive the vaccine and provides a link to book appointmentst.
“The data shows that vaccines are safe and work. They are our best hope of overcoming this virus and returning to normal life. I look forward to getting mine and I hope you do too, ”wrote Zuckerberg in a post on his Facebook page.
Facebook’s efforts come after the company was criticized by lawmakers and others for not doing more to combat misinformation on the platform about coronavirus vaccines.
However, the new policies are a change in Facebook’s stance last fall, when the company said it would not target posts talking about the coronavirus vaccine in the same way that it suppressed misinformation about the coronavirus in general.
“If someone is pointing out a case where a vaccine has caused harm or is concerned about it – you know, this is a difficult thing to say, from my perspective, that you shouldn’t be allowed to express it at all,” said Zuckerberg “Axios on HBO” in September.
Zuckerberg also warned at the time that if people are “generalizing things” and “spreading incorrect information” in a way that could lead to “imminent damage”, the company could “try to take action against them”.
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