Facebook rolling out new notifications to combat vaccine misinformation

MANILA, Philippines – Facebook is rolling out a new feature designed to combat misinformation relating to vaccines. 

New pop-ups will be shown to the user on both Facebook and Instagram when a user searches for and looks at content, and visits pages, hashtags or groups relating to vaccines. The pop-ups are meant to be educational, and will offer links to the users that redirect them to credible institutions. 

US users will be redirected to the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention while those outside the US will be redirected to the World Health Organization website. 

Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, the WHO’s director-general, praised Facebook’s move in a statement on Wednesday, September 4:

“The World Health Organization welcomes the commitment by Facebook to ensure that users find facts about vaccines across Instagram, Facebook Search, Groups, Pages and forums where people seek out information and advice.

“Facebook will direct millions of its users to WHO’s accurate and reliable vaccine information in several languages, to ensure that vital health messages reach people who need them the most.” 

He stressed digital organizations have a “responsibility to their users” with regards to fighting misinformation – in this case, health and vaccines. He described vaccine misinformation and anti-vaccination content as a “major threat to global health that could reverse decades of progress made in tackling preventable diseases.” 

The move comes amid other recent efforts from digital giants to combat anti-vaccination content, including Amazon removing anti-vaccination documentaries on Amazon Prime; YouTube pulling anti-vaccination ads; and Pinterest only returning search results for “measles” and “vaccine safety” from health organizations. 

Facebook’s new notifications are a follow-up to efforts first announced in March 2019 to lower rankings of anti-vaccination content on the feed. – Rappler.com