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Facebook says it will ban ads on its platform that discourage vaccines, with an exception for advocacy ads about government vaccine policies.
The company already bans advertisements about vaccine “hoaxes,” such as the false idea that vaccines cause autism. The latest policy extends the ban to advertisements that discourage vaccines for any reason.
But Facebook also said Tuesday that ads that “advocate for or against government legislation or policies around vaccines,” including a COVID-19 vaccine, will still be allowed. These ads will still need to be approved by the company as political ads and include a “paid by” tag on who is funding them.
Unpaid postings from individuals or groups that discourage vaccines will also be allowed, the new policy only includes paid ads.
The social network said it will also run an information campaign to encourage people to get vaccinated against the flu this year.
Facebook has taken other steps to try to stop the spread of misinformation related to the vaccine and coronavirus on its platform. Last year, he said he would start hiding groups and pages that spread misinformation about vaccines from his site’s search function.
Since the pandemic began, the company has tightened its rules on COVID-related disinformation. For example, promote articles debunking COVID-19 misinformation, of which there are thousands, in a new clearinghouse called “Get the Facts.” It also prohibits what it considers “dangerous” misinformation about the virus, and has removed President Donald Trump’s posts under this policy.
Some experts were skeptical of the move.
Facebook is addressing 2014 and 2015 anti-vaccines and not 2020 anti-vaccines, said David A. Broniatowski, an associate professor at the George Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences who has published several studies on misinformation about vaccinations
Broniatowski published a study in 2019 that found that most of the anti-vaccine misinformation being touted in Facebook ads came from two groups, including one led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and a California-based organization called Stop. Mandatory Vaccination.
“Facebook, by banning anti-vaccine ads, is probably not banning more than half of the ads,” he said. “I understand where they are coming from that they want to promote civil engagement, but at the same time, if their intention is to reduce the amount of misinformation against vaccines, they are not addressing the largest source of that misinformation.”
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