Facebook Takes Aim At Anti-Vaccine Misinformation

Pixabay

MENLO PARK, Ca. – Facebook is taking new steps to stop the spread of misinformation about vaccinations.

The social media platform is launching educational pop-up windows that will appear when users search for vaccine related content.

They will contain links to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for users in the United States and to the World Health Organization for other parts of the world.











Similar windows are also coming to Instagram, which is owned by Facebook.

The move comes as the number of people sickened by measles in the U.S. this year eclipses 1,200.

Earlier this year, Amazon and YouTube removed anti-vax documentaries and Pinterest limited related search results to information from public health organizations.









Facebook isn’t completely removing all anti-vax information because it says users should be able to see both sides of the debate.

 

Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the WNY News Now mobile app on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

 

Have a news tip? Email newsdesk@WNYNewsNow.com, send us a message on Facebook, or Twitter.

WNY News Now encourages an open exchange of opinions and ideas on our stories, however, we ask everyone to follow our comment policy.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.