This is after Twitter changed its policy in November 2022.
Public health experts say Meta’s decision to roll back some of its measures against misinformation about COVID-19 will lead to more misinformation about the virus, its treatments and vaccines. I’m afraid that
The company announced the change on Friday. Asked The company’s independent oversight advisory panel decided whether to continue its COVID-19 misinformation policy on Facebook and Instagram or take a “less restrictive approach.”
In countries where the COVID-19 public health emergency is still in effect, that policy remains in effect and content that violates Meta’s Coronavirus Misinformation Policy will be removed. The policy will not be maintained in the US because of the state of emergency that expires next month.
Mehta said the World Health Organization’s downgrade of the global public health emergency was the main reason for the change.
“Our COVID-19 misinformation rule no longer applies globally as the global public health emergency that triggered the rule has been lifted,” the company said in a statement. said. “We are consulting with medical professionals to understand what claims and categories of misinformation may continue to pose this risk.”
Infectious disease experts told ABC News they feared the misinformation and disinformation would reach vulnerable populations such as teens.
“One of the biggest challenges we face in the pandemic is, in some ways, not the virus itself, but the errors created around the science of the virus and the interventions surrounding its control, whether vaccines or virus control. Masking or cure,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Children’s Hospital Boston and a contributor to ABC News.
“That misinformation has long been a threat to science, and social media has amplified that threat,” he said.
This isn’t the first time a social media platform has withdrawn its misinformation policy. Twitter announced in November 2022, one month after Elon Musk acquired the company, that it would no longer label or remove posts containing misinformation about COVID-19.
other platforms, e.g. YouTubemaintains a COVID-19 misinformation policy and continues to remove content that contradicts health authorities. Health experts say misinformation is still prevalent, even though Covid-19 cases and deaths remain low.
“The impact is enormous because the pandemic is not over yet. Just because the emergency is over doesn’t mean the threat is gone,” said Dr. Peter Chinhong, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco. Stated. told ABC News.
according to data More than 37,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United States this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is more than a typical flu season.
“We’re not even at the halfway point of the year yet, but there’s still a chance of a winter surge,” said Chinhong. “So I fear that this misinformation fuel, and misinformation megaphone, will threaten the way we deal not just with COVID-19, but with all respiratory viruses this particular season. increase.”
Both Braunstein and Qinghong urged people to be careful what they read online and seek out trusted sources such as public health agencies.
“It’s challenging on some level because [for] For someone not trained in science, it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction,” Braunstein said. “But generally speaking, don’t use social media as a central source of information, especially when it comes to personal health care,” the decision. “
