Facebook Will Remove Posts Claiming Vaccines Cause Autism

Facebook is doubling down on its war against misinformation, with an announcement of increased vigilance against false vaccine claims. In December, the site began taking down posts that promoted misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine that had been debunked by health experts. Included on the new list is the false claim that vaccines cause autism.

Studies have repeatedly shown that vaccines do not cause autism. One concern some people raise revolves around the preservative thimerosal. Nine studies funded by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) proved no link between thimerosal and autism. Additionally, between 1999 and 2001 the amount of the preservative in vaccines has been reduced to a trace, in response to a concerted effort conducted before conclusive studies could be completed. The cause of autism and neurodiversity more generally is not currently known.

Facebook said that after consultation with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other professional health organizations, it is expanding the list of what constitutes a false claim to include:

• COVID-19 is manmade or manufactured
• Vaccines are not effective at preventing the disease they are meant to protect against
• It’s safer to get the disease than to get the vaccine
• Vaccines are toxic, dangerous or cause autism

Additional claims that are already being monitored can be viewed on their COVID-19 and Vaccine Policy page.

The new decision falls under Facebook’s Coordinating Harm policy, which prohibits content “[C]alling to action, advocating or promoting that others not get the COVID-19 vaccine.” In addition to removing posts that violate the policy, Facebook said that groups, pages and accounts that repeatedly share misinformation could be taken down. Temporarily, admins for groups that have members who have violated the policy in the past will have to approve all posts.

Across the board, WHO cites studies that show vaccines are far safer than medicines created to treat many infectious diseases. However, a keyword search of Medline (a databases of studies) returns five times as many hits for the words “vaccine risks” than “vaccine benefits,” proving that the worries over vaccines get much more focus than their positive results.

With its recent changes, Facebook is trying to provide ways for people to get complete and accurate information about both COVID-19 and controversy-causing topics like vaccines. It began enforcing their new policy on misinformation immediately and are adding a section called Get the Facts to its COVID-19 Information Center. Going forward the company said searches for vaccine or COVID-19 information will now promote results that are from authoritative, credible sources.