Facebook removed content posted by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for allegedly spreading misinformation about coronavirus.
Mr. Bolsonaro’s post focused on hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malarial drug touted by President Trump as a potential treatment for the coronavirus. His post said hydroxychloroquine was working everywhere, which prompted Facebook to intervene.
“We remove content on Facebook and Instagram that violates our Community Standards, which do not allow misinformation that could lead to physical harm,” a Facebook spokesperson told The Washington Times about the company’s decision.
Facebook has previously held firm to a policy of not fact-checking politicians’ speech. The decision to remove Mr. Bolsonaro’s content for spreading false information is a departure from the policy against fact-checking politicians that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended during congressional hearings last year.
The coronavirus outbreak has not just altered Facebook’s behavior toward politicians’ content posted on its platform. The company has also established a $1 million grant program for the International Fact-Checking Network to upgrade its capacity during the coronavirus crisis and it has partnered with Google, Microsoft, Reddit and Twitter to fight misinformation collectively across their platforms.
• Ryan Lovelace can be reached at rlovelace@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.