Facebook has announced that it removed seven million posts about the coronavirus between April and June 2020 for containing what it deemed to be “harmful” COVID-19 misinformation.
In addition to removing the posts, Facebook also put warning labels on 98 million posts across Facebook and Instagram during Q2 2020 for containing “misleading” coronavirus misinformation.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has previously revealed that these warning labels almost have the same effect as removing the posts with the warnings dissuading users from clicking through to the content 95% of the time.
The release of these stats follows Zuckerberg coming out strongly against the drug hydroxychloroquine during a House Judiciary Committee hearing last month and vowing to take down posts that say hydroxychloroquine is a cure for COVID.
Facebook and other social media platforms have faced heavy criticism for their increased censorship of doctors that speak positively about hydroxychloroquine under their coronavirus misinformation rules.
Several of the doctors who have been impacted by this censorship have slammed the tech giants for silencing medical doctors while amplifying the views of those who have been “designated as experts” by the mainstream media.
But despite the pushback against these rules, Facebook has continued its aggressive censorship of coronavirus content that it deems to be “misinformation” this quarter.
A viral press conference from a group of doctors, a post from a Rabbi, anti-mask groups, and a statement from the President are some of the many examples of the content and communities that have been purged under Facebook’s COVID-19 misinformation rules.
