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from the threw-the-facebook-out-with-the-vax-water dept.
Facebook cracks down on vaccine misinformation
In a blog post, the Menlo Park, Calif. company said it will reject any ads containing misinformation about vaccines, remove any targeted advertising options like 'vaccine controversies,' and will no longer show or recommend content containing this type of misinformation on Instagram Explore or hashtag pages."
Submitted via IRC for FatPhil
Combatting Vaccine Misinformation
We are working to tackle vaccine misinformation on Facebook by reducing its distribution and providing people with authoritative information on the topic.
[...] Leading global health organizations, such as the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have publicly identified verifiable vaccine hoaxes. If these vaccine hoaxes appear on Facebook, we will take action against them.
For example, if a group or Page admin posts this vaccine misinformation, we will exclude the entire group or Page from recommendations, reduce these groups and Pages’ distribution in News Feed and Search, and reject ads with this misinformation.
We also believe in providing people with additional context so they can decide whether to read, share, or engage in conversations about information they see on Facebook. We are exploring ways to give people more accurate information from expert organizations about vaccines at the top of results for related searches, on Pages discussing the topic, and on invitations to join groups about the topic. We will have an update on this soon.
We are fully committed to the safety of our community and will continue to expand on this work.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by slinches on Thursday March 14 2019, @04:46PM (3 children)
I draw the line at banning ideas. I'd rather have Alex Jones spouting off about how homeopathic remedies can protect against vaccines made from the fake moon dust from the other side of the flat earth than let someone decide who can speak and what subjects are allowed to be discussed.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday March 14 2019, @05:30PM (2 children)
Facebook does not have to allow certain ideas to be disgust on their platform.
Once Facebook tries to draw that line they open a can of worms before the barn door can be closed.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Friday March 15 2019, @02:27AM (1 child)
Wow, that's an odd image. I'm now picturing a Rube Goldberg-style device where you start drawing a line in the stand, which triggers both a can opener (to open the worms) and a weight that starts swing a barn door. A race against time ensues about whether to can opener opens the worms before the barn door can close.
Neat. Can we use that to adjudicate what gets posted on Facebook, please?
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday March 15 2019, @02:10PM
For extra credit, I am studying how to mix my metaphores. But this one did not work out so well . . .
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.