Facebook will stop removing posts that claim that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 pandemic, originated or leaked from a laboratory. According to Politico, the changes in the information policies of the social network are due to the order of President Joe Biden that it be investigated if the coronavirus had its origins in an animal or was a laboratory accident .
A spokesperson for Facebook has indicated that before making the changes they have consulted with experts in the field . “We continue to work with health experts to keep up with the changing nature of the pandemic and regularly update our policies as new facts emerge,” he said.
Facebook's policies do contemplate removing content about COVID-19 that “contributes to the risk of causing actual harm.” That is: false claims and conspiracy theories . Therefore, Facebook will continue to remove posts that state “an individual, government, or country” created the coronavirus.
What will not be removed from now on are claims that the coronavirus “was studied, originated, or leaked from a laboratory” . Of course, as long as they do not specifically state that man created this virus.
Statements that indicate “that it has been manufactured or developed through bioengineering” or that claim that “it is a biological weapon” will also be eliminated . For example, Facebook will suppress statements such as “The coronavirus is a bioweapon!” and will allow others such as “The coronavirus may have been caused by a laboratory accident in Wuhan.”
Facebook modifies its policies after the new investigation into the origins of the coronavirus
Photo by Dimitri Karastelev on Unsplash The White House has issued a statement indicating that Joe Biden has commissioned a detailed report on the origins of the coronavirus . It contemplates two possible scenarios: that it has arisen from human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory accident.
Following Biden's decision, Facebook has been the first social network to update its rules on how it treats information related to the coronavirus . Other platforms such as Twitter, YouTube so far have not indicated that they will update their content publication policies.
