Twitter announced today that it will remove tweets making false or misleading claims about COVID-19 vaccinations.
Any tweets claiming that vaccines “intentionally cause harm to control populations” or invoke conspiracy theories will be subject to removal, according to Twitter’s blog post. Tweets falsely suggesting that COVID-19 doesn’t exist or espouse “widely debunked” claims may also be removed. Enforcement of the new policy will begin next week.
Twitter may also label or place warnings on tweets pushing vaccine conspiracy theories starting early next year. These labeled tweets could link out to authoritative public health information, similar to how Twitter directed users to verified voting information throughout the 2020 election.
“We will enforce this policy in close consultation with local, national and global public health authorities around the world, and will strive to be iterative and transparent in our approach,” the blog post said.
The policy, announced the same week that the first Americans received COVID-19 vaccinations as part of a mass immunization campaign, will also apply to false claims that the pandemic is not real or serious and vaccinations are unnecessary. It will also apply to false claims that have been widely debunked about adverse effects of receiving such vaccines.
Conspiracy theories and misinformation about the coronavirus and its possible vaccines have proliferated on social media platforms during the pandemic.
Twitter said that starting early next year, it may also label or place a warning on tweets that advance “unsubstantiated rumors, disputed claims, as well as incomplete or out-of-context information” about the vaccines.
A Twitter spokeswoman said the company would determine with public health partners which vaccine misinformation was harmful enough to warrant removal.
The new rules expand on coronavirus-related policies put in place by Twitter earlier this year. In March, Twitter rolled out a COVID-19 tab in its Explore page and partnered with organizations like the World Health Organization to supply reputable coronavirus information on its platform.
