After FDA officially approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for kids between the ages of five and 11, Meta (Facebook) announced that it’s rolling out stricter policies for vaccine misinformation targeted at children (via Engadget). The company previously put restrictions on COVID-19 vaccine misinformation in late 2020, but didn’t have any specific policies regarding kids.
In a blog post Meta (Facebook) said that “it’s partnering with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to take down harmful content related to children and the COVID-19 vaccine.”
This includes any posts that imply the COVID-19 vaccine is unsafe, untested, or ineffective for children. Additionally, Meta will provide in-feed reminders in English and Spanish that the vaccine has been approved for kids, and will also provide information about where it’s available.”
Meta said that it’s taken down a total of 20 million pieces of COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation from both Facebook and Instagram since the beginning of the pandemic.
