Facebook is showing users messages about the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine’s FDA approval.
Facebook on Wednesday said it’ll be “sharing messages across Facebook in both English and Spanish” about the US Food and Drug Administration’s full approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. On Monday, Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine became the first to win full approval by the FDA.
“This is part of our ongoing efforts to connect people with reliable information,” Facebook said in a tweet. “We’ve also updated our policies to remove claims that ‘there are no FDA-approved vaccines’ and ‘the Pfizer vaccine is not FDA-approved.’ We’ll continue to look for and take action against new claims that are no longer accurate given the FDA’s announcement.”
Following the FDA’s full approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, we’re sharing messages across Facebook in both English and Spanish to make sure people see the FDA’s approval announcement. This is part of our ongoing efforts to connect people with reliable information. pic.twitter.com/eLqAQ1IwhK
— Facebook Newsroom (@fbnewsroom) August 25, 2021
Facebook, which saw a surge in users amid the coronavirus pandemic as people spent more time indoors, has been increasing its crackdown on COVID-19 misinformation. Last March, the social network built an information center at the top of its news feed to direct users to authoritative information about the virus. It also also launched a section in its COVID-19 Information Center last year called Facts about COVID-19 to debunk common myths, such as the false and dangerous notion that drinking bleach can prevent the virus. And last July, it began pushing information on face coverings and other preventative measures on its platform and on Instagram, which it owns.
The company also said last week that Facebook and Instagram took down more than 20 million pieces of content containing COVID-19 misinformation between the start of the pandemic and June. Earlier this year, the company said it had disabled more than 1.3 billion fake accounts between October and December 2020, and that it had more than 35,000 people taking down misinformation on its platforms.
See also: Johnson & Johnson says its booster creates strong response: What that means for COVID-19 boosters