Facebook announced that it will remove any posts that make false claims about coronavirus vaccines. The social media company said that posts claiming the "vaccines contain microchips, or anything else that isn't on the official vaccine ingredient list" and other conspiracy theories that have been debunked by public health experts will be deleted.
"This is another way that we are applying our policy to remove misinformation about the virus that could lead to imminent physical harm," Facebook's head of health, Kang-Xing Jin, wrote in a blog post.
Facebook admitted that false claims may not be removed immediately and said it would send users to its COVID-19 Information Center for the latest information about the global pandemic.
"We will not be able to start enforcing these policies overnight. Since it's early and facts about COVID-19 vaccines will continue to evolve, we will regularly update the claims we remove based on guidance from public health authorities as they learn more," Jin wrote.
The social media company also said it will invest $100 million to help support the news industry and independent fact-checkers.
Facebook also updated its policy on coronavirus-related ads. Previously, ads that created a false sense of panic or implied that the product could prevent or cure COVID-19 were banned. Under the new policy, Facebook will not allow companies to buy "ads for medical face masks, hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, and COVID-19 test kits."
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