Social media giant Facebook plans to update its policies and guidelines around the novel coronavirus by obliterating false claims related to the upcoming vaccines.

Facebook said it will monitor information shared on its site and debunk misinformation on both its main app and Instagram.

The announcement comes after coronavirus vaccine candidate Pfizer announced the roll-out of the vaccines in the coming days. This has also led to a spike in false claims circulating across social media platforms.

Facebook said in its announcement: “This could include false claims about the safety, efficacy, ingredients, or side effects of the vaccines. For example, we will remove false claims that Covid-19 vaccines contain microchips or anything else that isn’t on the official vaccine ingredient list.”

Conspiracy theories

It further noted that it will remove all conspiracy theories associated with Covid-19 vaccines, such as that specific populations are being forced to test the vaccine against their will.

Facebook said it will not be able to enforce the policies overnight and hence need time to roll them out. It said: “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.”

According to the Independent report, Facebook had removed around 12 million pieces of misinformation related to coronavirus between March and October. It also stuck a warning label on 50 million content in the month of April alone.

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