Facebook announced on Tuesday (13.10.2020) a ban on ads that will desmotive people to be vaccinated in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic because, according to the company, it wants to emphasize “the importance of preventive health behaviors.”
“While public health experts agree that we won’t have an approved and widely available COVID-19 vaccine in a while, there are steps people can take to stay healthy and safe,” the company said in a statement.
The platform has already banned misinformation and fraud identified by public health institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO) or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
However, Facebook will continue to allow ads both for and against government regulations linked to vaccines. The social network also plans to launch a public information campaign in the United States encouraging people to get vaccinated against seasonal influenza.
Coronavirus vaccines are expected to be key to overcoming the pandemic, so several laboratories around the world are working against time to develop them. Meanwhile, social media companies have been regularly accused of allowing anti-vaccine movements to flourish on their platforms.
