Facebook Bans Ads Discouraging Vaccines, In Latest Misinformation Crackdown - NPR

Facebook said on Tuesday it will ban anti-vaccination ads, following widespread pressure on the social network to curb harmful content.

"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.".

Public health groups and other critics have urged it to stamp out widespread misinformation on its platforms, which have more than 3 billion monthly active users.

It had already banned vaccine misinformation and hoaxes identified by global health organizations like the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The ban also only applies to paid ads, not to the much larger volume of regular posts, including by users with large followings and posts in private groups where vaccine misinformation has flourished.

That means it may have limited effect on the spread of false claims about vaccines among people and groups that are already skeptical, Renée DiResta, who studies misinformation at the Stanford Internet Observatory, told NPR.

DiResta said the coronavirus pandemic appears to have changed the way Facebook thinks about health misinformation in particular.

Facebook also said on Tuesday it would direct people to information about the flu vaccine and where users in the U.S