Chhavideep Singh
Source: Axios
Facebook Inc. has been a volunteer to provide the correct information as per the World Health Organisation on the COVID-19 situation in the world. Facebook being a social media conglomerate enjoys power over the world that can make users either very well informed about the situation of the COVID-19 threat and its vaccination or ruin the reality with the spread of misinformation and false claims. Facebook Inc. is trying its best to remove false information from all its social media websites and applications and spreading the correct knowledge for the benefit of the people and is also helping the government in their vaccination drive.
Recently, the President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro’s Facebook page has been frozen by the company over spreading of misinformation on COVID-19. The President is accused of promoting a remedy that can cure COVID-19 without any prominent side effects which is not backed by science and is claimed without solid evidence.
According to a report by Reuters, President Maduro had previously in January advocated the use of “Carvativir” which is an oral solution derived from thyme, claimed by him as a miracle medicine that contains the ability to neutralise the COVID-19 virus with no actual side effects. However, these claims are not backed by science in any which way and is not verified by The World Health Organisation as well.
Against these false claims and spread of misinformation about the Corona Virus, Facebook Inc. has taken upon themselves to pull down the video from President Maduro’s page saying that it clearly violates the company’s policy against spread of misinformation that something can guarantee COVID-19 prevention or recovery from the virus without scientific evidence.
Facebook has been strictly taking action on the violation of this policy and with respect to that has also frozen President Maduro’s Facebook page where it is in the ‘read -only’ state, as mentioned in a report by Reuters. Furthermore, Facebook also says that this claimed information is not guided by the WHO and we, at Facebook follow guidelines from the World Health Organisation that says that presently, there is no medication to cure the COVID-19 virus.
The social media giant has frozen the President’s account for 30 days over false claims and the spread of misinformation.
The report by Reuters also mentions that this action by Facebook has successfully been notified to the page’s administrators and also that President Maduro’s Instagram account will not be hampered with this violation, as you know Instagram comes under Facebook Inc.