Facebook to ban posts with false vaccine claims

Facebook announced it will remove posts containing misinformation about vaccines, including posts that claim vaccines cause autism and infertility or that it is safer for individuals to contract the coronavirus than being vaccinated. The policy deals with misinformation regarding COVID-19 vaccines but also false claims around other vaccines. The platform consulted with the World Health Organization to determine a list of misleading information around the topic. Facebook’s policy change comes in response to a ruling from the Facebook Oversight Board that called for the platform to create a new standard for health-related information. In addition, Facebook agreed to give US$120 million in advertising credit to health ministries, NGOs, and the UN to support dissemination of reliable COVID-19 vaccine and preventive health information.