- According to The Wall Street Journal, researchers at Facebook warned comments on vaccine-related posts were filled with anti-vaccine messaging and misinformation.
- Facebook spokesperson Aaron Simpson told USA TODAY the documents unearthed in the report show the company’s routine process in dealing with tough challenges.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly faced a huge challenge in encouraging Facebook users to get vaccinated against COVID-19: his own social media platform.
According to The Wall Street Journal, which cites internal documents, researchers at Facebook warned comments on vaccine-related posts were filled with anti-vaccine messaging and misinformation aimed at undercutting efforts at pushing the vaccine.
Agencies such as Unicef and the World Health Organization expressed concerns about the flurry of anti-vaccine comments appearing on their posts encouraging users get vaccinated, said the report.
An internal memo showed Facebook researchers were worried all the negative comments could skew users’ views on whether the vaccines were safe, the Journal reported.
►Facebook’s effect:Facebook officials knew Instagram can have negative mental health impacts for teens, report claims
►You can pre-order iPhone 13 now:Here’s what you should know
In a statement emailed to USA TODAY, Facebook spokesperson Aaron Simpson said the documents unearthed in the report show the company’s routine process in dealing with tough challenges.
“Narrowly characterizing leaked documents doesn’t accurately represent the problem, and it also ignores the work that’s been underway to make comments on posts about COVID-19 and vaccines safer and more reliable,” said Simpson.
In March, Zuckerberg wrote a post on a campaign to help 50 million people get vaccinated as rollout started to expand in the U.S. and other parts of the world.
They included tools for when and where to get vaccinated and a COVID Information Center where users can seek more information.
“The data shows the vaccines are safe and they work,” wrote Zuckerberg. “They’re our best hope for getting past this virus and getting back to normal life.”
►Do you really need a new iPhone?:5 reasons to hold on to that iPhone 6S or later
Friday’s Journal report is the latest in a series showing how the social media giant is aware of how flaws in its platform can cause harm to users. A separate report earlier this week detailed how company-owned app Instagram can have a negative impact on the mental health and body image of teenage girls.
In February, Facebook warned of a broad crackdown against COVID misinformation, threatening to remove groups or pages from the platform for repeatedly spreading false information.
In July, U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., introduced a bill that would create an exception under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act related to misinformation spread about a public health emergency. Section 230 provides protection for social media companies against content their users post.
Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.
The post Mark Zuckerberg's vaccine push undermined by own Facebook platform, report says appeared first on The News Amed.