Facebook has announced that the company is implementing a new global policy banning paid advertisements on its platform that it has determined discourage people from getting vaccinated.1 According to a blog authored by Kang-Xing Jin, Head of Health and Rob Leathern, Director of Product Management at Facebook:
Today, we’re launching a new global policy that prohibits ads discouraging people from getting vaccinated. We don’t want these ads on our platform. Our goal is to help messages about the safety and efficacy of vaccines reach a broad group of people, while prohibiting ads with misinformation that could harm public health efforts.2
Censorship Policies Already Existed on Facebook
Facebook already has a previously existing policy that prohibits advertisements that are categorized as vaccine “hoaxes” (such as ads that state vaccines cause autism) identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) and government agencies like the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).3
In addition, the company has previously implemented other measures to stop what it believes is the spread of vaccine and coronavirus-related “misinformation” on its platform. Last year, Facebook began censoring groups and webpages that post information about vaccine risks and failures from the search function of its site.4
Aleksandra Kuzmanovic, social media manager at the WHO made a statement on Facebook’s new policy: “Access to reliable information is important to ensure uptake of safe and effective vaccines. We welcome Facebook’s update of its vaccine ad policies to prohibit ads that discourage people from getting vaccinated.”5
What Type of Content on Vaccines Does Facebook Allow?
The company stated that advertisements that “advocate for or against legislation or government policies around vaccines,” including COVID-19 vaccine-related legislation and policy, will be allowed. However, these advertisements will still have to be approved by the company as political advertisements and include a “paid for by” label on who is funding them.6
Facebook said that the new policy only applies to paid advertisements discouraging people from getting vaccinated. Unpaid posts by people or groups that provide information on the risks of vaccines and discourage vaccinations will still be allowed.7
Facebook Partners With WHO to Promote Vaccines and Track Public Opinion
Facebook has stated that they will be partnering with global health organizations to promote vaccine education campaigns. The company is working in collaborate with the WHO and UNICEF on public health messaging to increase vaccination rates worldwide. In their blog post, Facebook’s Jin and Leathern said, “We’re working with WHO’s Vaccine Safety Network to train and support their network of vaccine partners to utilize Facebook to reach as many people as possible with public health messaging.”8
According to the blog, Insights for Impact, which is part of the Facebook Data for Good Program, in collaboration with CrowdTangle, will expand its partnership with UNICEF and other nonprofits to share aggregated insights from public posts to understand how people are talking about vaccines. Facebook will analyze this public conversation across genders, age brackets and regions and use this aggregated information from public posts to build public trust in vaccines.9
Freedom of Speech on Facebook?
Facebook’s censorship of vaccine related information comes as a surprise to some because Facebook’s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has long said that he is a proponent of free speech and of allowing all types of content to be posted on the social network.10
In October 2019, Zuckerberg spoke at Georgetown University about the importance of protecting free expression. He underscored his belief that giving everyone a voice empowers the powerless and pushes society to be better over time. He also warned that our society is increasingly seeing laws and regulations around the world that undermine free expression and human rights.11
Facebook has not addressed its position on free speech after the implementation of its ban on advertisements that criticize vaccine science and policy and the ethics of mandatory vaccination, or question the accuracy of information about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 disease and public health policies implemented during to the coronavirus pandemic.12
References:
1 Graham M, Rodriguez S. Facebook says it will finally ban anti-vaccination ads. CNBC Oct. 13, 2020.
2 Jin KX, Leathern R. Supporting Public Health Experts’ Vaccine Efforts. Facebook Oct. 13, 2020.
3 Ibid.
4 Ortutay B. Facebook bans anti-vaccination ads but not antivax posts. ABC News Oct. 13, 2020.
5 See Footnote 2.
6 See Footnote 4.
7 Ibid.
8 See Footnote 2.
9 Ibid.
10 Issac M. Facebook Bans Anti-Vaccination Ads, Clamping Down Again. The New York Times Oct. 13, 2020.
11 Mark Zuckerberg Stands for Voice and Free Expression. Facebook Oct. 17, 2019..
12 See Footnote 10.
11 Responses
There is censorship on non-pro-pharmaceutical medicine in the MSM, and this censorship has been coming into social media for the last several years. The pharmaceutical industry is powerful indeed. Clearly, no-one is allowed to know anything about health issues unless it is information favourable to the drug cartel.
It must now be time for a new platform to be created for the censored. Estimates suggest 10% of people will refuse the newCOVID-19 vaccines, and another 20% are dubious – which means they are uncertain, and thinking about it.
Surely this is sufficient for a new ‘health freedom’, ‘patient choice’ platform?
Good grief…another mind-blowing shock. Imagine any of these fake media sites filtering the factual news to suit their own socialist agendas. I rarely use Facebook, Google, Microsoft or many of the other Internet thought suppression networks. The pretend experts can’t even get their act together telling us this and than something completely opposite. Who to trust? Facebook and Google are not even on my list.
The Media has no credibility. I do not trust a word they say. I get my information from independent media.
Zuckerburg and Gates…. a match made in heaven. Blech.
So basically what their saying are people who follow FB; are not intelligent enough to make an informed decision based on the information that is advertised on their FB platform.
We should not censor information on vaccines or alternative health. If we paid attention to diet and Some supplements, such as Vit C, D3, zinc, then maybe many less people would have severe reactions. Do not censor. If there is nothing to hide why censor. Give the people some credit.
“Facebook will analyze this public conversation across genders, age brackets and regions and use this aggregated information from public posts to build public trust in vaccines.” in other words figure out better and more sneaky ways to LIE.
Zuckerberg is a liar….he says one thing and does another and acts bewildered if asked anything about his company……he is censoring our right to be informed and making decisions about who to publish based on their corrupted algorithms….the platform to go to now is http://www.parler.com!!! Here is where you can now find robust discussion without censorship…..leave Facebook now ….they are worthless and only trying to program you to accept their view of the world……log off NOW!!!!!
So they’re going to allow non-paid posts to remain on FB? I guess that’s what Lord Zuckerberg means by allowing free speech. If he actually does that, I’ll be impressed. It will be a hell (no pun intended) of a lot more than G006le And youtube will ever do. However, what, ahem, “impact,” will that have on FB’s board? Their principle stock holders? Zucky is doing this to softly… gently bite the hand of Pharma whose ads they lucratively run to keep their stock price high and revenues in the black.
The money. It will never cease to sadden me how many people close eyes and ears and open their mouths for the enemy to shovel it in without doing a single second’s homework to follow dat money.
Wish that the zombified people would start to wonder why the NSA is so hip…silly me, I mean “Facebook” is so hip to get everyone on ol’ planet Earth vaccinated. I’m sure the communist/satanic Georgia Guidestones “commandments” don’t have anything to do with it.
Reading “The Gulag Archipelago” it does seem that the Satanists who murdered over 100 million of the Russian people under the guise of a “socialist republic” would rather make the destruction of humanity a lot easier for themselves. It took a long time for them to murder so many people, I guess using vaccines to permanently sterilize most of humanity would be just the ticket.
My daughter is 24 and buying the propaganda that everyone should be vaccinated for the greater good. The gov’t is willing to spend billions to advertise to the sheep that they should run out and get their “friendly and safe” vaccine.