Facebook reverses course, allows users to claim COVID was man-made as lab-leak theory gains ground



Facebook has decided that its users may now suggest that COVID-19 was man-made without getting their posts banned, in a reversal from previous policy as the theory that the virus was cooked up in a Wuhan lab gains traction.

What are the details?

The social media giant told Politico Wednesday that it would no longer take down posts claiming the coronavirus was manufactured, in what the outlet reported was "a move that acknowledges the renewed debate about the virus' origins."

The outlet reported:

Facebook announced in February it had expanded the list of misleading health claims that it would remove from its platforms to include those asserting that "COVID-19 is man-made or manufactured." The tech giant has updated its policies against false and misleading coronavirus information, including its running list of debunked claims, over the course of the pandemic in consultation with global health officials.

The move draws further scrutiny over whether "fact-checking" and post regulation from the social media giant has been political in nature, as Facebook has infamously flagged and even punished users for questioning COVID-19-related policies and rhetoric.

Former President Donald Trump and others have long suggested COVID was leaked from China's Wuhan Institute of Virology, an idea that was dismissed by several in mainstream media for months as a conspiracy theory.

A New York Times COVID reporter even tweeted Wednesday, "Someday we will stop talking about the lab leak theory and maybe even admit its racist roots. But alas, that day is not yet here."

But after The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that multiple workers at the Wuhan lab fell sick with symptoms related to COVID-19 in November of 2019, the mainstream media and others resistant to the lab-leak idea started changing their tunes.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, who previously dismissed theories that the virus came from the lab in Wuhan, did a complete reversal — calling for an investigation into the origins of COVID and admitting he is "not convinced" that the disease emerged naturally, as he has long maintained.

Following reports that President Joe Biden's administration shut down a State Department probe launched by the Trump administration aimed at finding out the source of COVID-19, Biden issued a statement calling on the intelligence community to "redouble their efforts to collect and analyze information that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion" between two theories: "whether it emerged from human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory accident."

Instagram bans Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for sharing 'debunked' vaccine claims as Facebook takes major steps to silence misinformation



Instagram removed Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s account on Wednesday as part of parent company Facebook's latest effort to purge its platforms of what it considers to be "false claims" about the coronavirus and vaccines.

What happened?

In a statement, according to CNN, a Facebook spokesperson said, "We removed this account for repeatedly sharing debunked claims about the coronavirus or vaccines."

The spokesperson reportedly added that the tech giant has no plans "at this time" to take down Kennedy's Facebook account, which boasts more than 300,000 followers.

Kennedy, the son of former U.S. Attorney General and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, is a well-known vaccine skeptic who regularly uses his social media platforms to speak out against vaccinations. He has lobbied Congress to grant exemptions to parents who live in states where vaccines for children are mandatory, CNN reported.

Kennedy, a lifelong Democrat, is the founder of the nonprofit Children's Health Defense, an organization that expresses doubts about the health benefits of vaccines. He has regularly voiced concerns over an alleged connection between vaccines and autism in children.

What's the background?

Kennedy's ban from Instagram is the highest-profile move by Facebook since the tech company initiated its clampdown on vaccine and COVID-19 "misinformation" earlier this week.

On Monday, Facebook announced in a newsroom update that, after consultation with the World Health Organization and other leading health agencies, it is "expanding" efforts "to remove false claims on Facebook and Instagram about COVID-19, COVID-19 vaccines and vaccines in general during the pandemic."

As a part of the effort, the company indicated it would no longer simply "downrank" objectionable content but would remove from its platform misinformation about the coronavirus and vaccines, such as claims that the virus was manufactured in a lab, that vaccines are not effective, that it's safer to get the disease than to receive the vaccine, and that in general, vaccines are toxic, dangerous, or cause autism.

Anything else?

The action against Kennedy appears to prove that Facebook was not bluffing when it announced the new effort. It also indicates that the social media giant intends to dig its heels in even as it and several other similar companies are under intense scrutiny for censorship practices.

Whether you agree with Kennedy's claims or not, the fact that he can be so easily silenced should be concerning to any American who cherishes the right to free speech.

Facebook announces major clampdown on vaccine, coronavirus 'misinformation'



Facebook announced Monday a major clampdown on the spread of what the tech giant considers to be "false claims" about COVID-19 and vaccines.

Moving forward the company will be removing from its platform any misinformation regarding the coronavirus and vaccines, including claims that the virus was manufactured in a lab, that vaccines are not effective at preventing disease, that it's safer to get the disease than the vaccine, and that vaccines, in general, are toxic, dangerous, or cause autism.

"In addition to sharing reliable information, we are expanding our efforts to remove false claims on Facebook and Instagram about COVID-19, COVID-19 vaccines and vaccines in general during the pandemic," the company's head of health, Kang-Xing Jin, said in a newsroom update. "Today, following consultations with leading health organizations, including the WHO, we're expanding the list of false claims we will remove to include additional debunked claims about COVID-19 and vaccines."

The exhaustive list of of false claims that are now subject to removal are listed on Facebook's Help Center webpage. It broadly includes any content that downplays the severity of COVID-19 or discourages good health practices such as wearing a mask.

"We will begin enforcing this policy immediately, with a particular focus on Pages, groups and accounts that violate these rules, and we'll continue to expand our enforcement over the coming weeks," Facebook's vice president of Integrity, Guy Rosen, wrote. "Groups, Pages and accounts on Facebook and Instagram that repeatedly share these debunked claims may be removed altogether."

Rosen added that the company plans to access to credible information by "promot[ing] relevant, authoritative results" when people search for vaccine or coronavirus-related content on the platform.

He noted that content monitoring regarding the coronavirus pandemic has been going on since December, only now the list of false claims has expanded.

The move does mark a significant departure from past actions, however. As the New York Times reported, in the past, the company has opted to "downrank" misinformation about the coronavirus, or push the content lower in people's news feeds. But now the company is taking action by removing such content altogether.

According to the newsroom update, the new action is in response to a ruling by the company's Oversight Board, which found that its rules and standards for health-related misinformation were "inappropriately vague."

The news comes as Facebook and other major social media companies are under intense scrutiny for their censorship practices. If the new action serves as any indication, it appears that Facebook does not intend to relent from engaging in aggressive content suppression.