Alert! Facebook to take down profile frames with anti-vaccine claims

Amid these tough times, there is a lot of misinformation around COVID-19 and vaccination. In order to curb these, Mark Zuckerberg-owned Facebook has taken multiple steps but that is not enough as some users are still finding ways and means to bypass these efforts. These people are misusing features of Facebook to spread false information about the vaccine and COVID-19. 

As per the CNBC report, some people were using custom borders on Facebook, which basically lets users personalise profile frames to make anti-vaccine claims.

The report further revealed that some profile frames carried messages that are banned on Facebook. “I trust my immune system, not a shot,” read one of the borders. This misinformation includes 5G spreading COVID-19 and others which was there on several Facebook profile frames.

These Facebook profile frames were seen to be against the company policies and the company has tried its best to take them down, said a Facebook spokesperson.

“We are actively promoting profile frames that encourage people to share their support for COVID-19 vaccines and removing any that break our rules,” the spokesperson told Engadget.

The spokesperson further revealed that the number of such Facebook profiles has only grown. “More than five million people globally have used one of these profile frames to express support for the vaccines, and more than half of people in the US on Facebook have already seen someone use one of our profile frames encouraging support for vaccines,” the spokesperson added.

Facebook had earlier taken down 12 million pieces of misinformation on the COVID-19 pandemic globally from its platform and other apps which it owns. It has also announced plans to unveil a new campaign to educate and inform its users in India to help detect misinformation about the pandemic.

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