The coronavirus crisis is now serious with a toll of 81,292 cases and 2,770 deaths as of writing that tech giants are starting to carefully consider how they moderate related content posted on their social platforms.
According to a report from Business Insider, Facebook is crafting tighter rules for what content is acceptable on the platform when it comes to the illness in order to cut down on the rapidly increasing amount of misinformation posted online.
Specifically, the new ban targets any posts that “create a sense of urgency” around the acquisition of various products that promise to prevent or even cure the illness. This means that ads that create the impression that something is in limited supply or that it’s guaranteed to be effective against the coronavirus are no longer allowed.
Facebook’s position on coronavirus misinformation is similar to its position on anti-vaccination content. Last year it said that it would remove anti-vaccine groups and pages from its recommendations, and that it would not allow ads to target users based on related terms. However, doubts have been raised about Facebook’s policing. Buzzfeed News reported in January that some anti-vaccination ads still appear on the platform, which Facebook claimed did not violate its policies.
”Our policy is to ban ads containing vaccine misinformation,” Facebook told Buzzfeed News at the time, adding that its policy does not ban advertising “on the basis that it expresses opposition to vaccines.”
Facebook has also been criticised for allowing misinformation in political campaign ads. Earlier this year, the company justified its “warts and all” approach to political speech by saying that “people should be able to hear from those who wish to lead them.” The company’s position has been criticized both internally and externally, but its proponents say that a private company like Facebook has no place policing political speech.
Facebook has also had to cancel its participation in a number of conferences as a result of the outbreak. It cancelled an upcoming marketing conference earlier this month, and has also announced it will not be attending the Game Developers Conference next month.
