Facebook will prohibit advertisements that discourage users from getting vaccinated

FP TrendingOct 14, 2020 15:54:04 IST

Social media giant Facebook is bringing a change in its policy with respect to what goes on the site and what will be barred. Now Facebook will not let any ad that discourages vaccination to be up on the platform. This is part of Facebook’s new public health campaign that is aimed at spreading flu vaccine information. In a blog post on Tuesday, Kang-Xing Jin, Head of Health, and Rob Leathern, Director of Product Management wrote that the platform will extend three-fold help to support the vaccine efforts put in by public health experts.

This is part of Facebook’s new public health campaign that is aimed at spreading flu vaccine information. Image: Facebook

The new flu vaccine information campaign will include new product features that provide additional vaccine-related content, Facebook will be rejecting ads globally that discourage people from getting a vaccine and lastly, the firm will work with global health partners on campaigns to increase immunization rates.

As a tested vaccine for COVID-19 is still not available, public health workers think that getting the flu shot will minimize the risk of concurrent flu as well as COVID-19, according to Facebook. The platform will be sharing information on how to get a flu shot and what are its advantages. They will also provide the nearest location to get the vaccine in the US using the Preventive Health Tool. The feature is getting released in the US this week with Facebook claiming that other countries will receive the feature soon.

The platform will be sharing information on how to get a flu shot and what are its advantages. Image: Facebook

Speaking on banning the anti-vaccination ads, Facebook said that their “goal is to help messages about the safety and efficacy of vaccines reach a broad group of people, while prohibiting ads with misinformation that could harm public health efforts”. However, it would still allow ads that advocate for or against the government's stand on vaccines but advertisers would need to identify themselves. Anyone running these ads has to get authorized and the advert will include a ‘Paid for by’ label.

The Guardian noted that several ads discouraging vaccine mandates remained on the platform as of Tuesday. But the blog mentions that the enforcement will take a few days. Also, its phrasing of rejecting an ad that “explicitly discourages someone from getting a vaccine” can prove to be a loophole and the new policy’s fruitfulness is yet to be seen.