Facebook Says It Won’t Pull “Man‑Made” Covid-19 Posts Anymore
Why the pause?
Facebook has announced that it will no longer delete claims that the Covid‑19 virus was engineered by humans. The move comes after the company updated its misinformation policy to keep up with a constantly evolving pandemic and the shifting advice of public‑health experts.
Key Points
- Policy Tweak: The platform will keep the list of banned statements live, adjusting it as new facts emerge.
- Over 16 million pieces of Covid‑19‑related misinformation have already been removed across its services.
- Facebook’s February update broadened the scope of claims that it would delete, including those about a lab origin.
What’s the political backdrop?
President Joe Biden has urged U.S. intelligence agencies to push deeper into the debate on the virus’s origin, spotlighting theories that the virus could have escaped from a laboratory in China. In a similar vein, social media giants have felt pressure to step up their fight against health misinformation during the pandemic.
Covid‑19: The bigger picture
Since the first cases appeared in Wuhan in late 2019, the pandemic has claimed over 3.6 million lives worldwide. The exact story behind the virus’s appearance remains contested among researchers, fueling a swirl of speculation and, at times, misinformation.
One More Rule Update
A Facebook spokesperson said that the company will continue to work with health experts “to keep pace with the evolving nature of the pandemic.” The move signals a willingness to adjust rules as the science and public knowledge change.
