Facebook has taken an uncharacteristically aggressive stance on false coronavirus posts, with Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg saying hoaxes about the virus pose more of a threat to users than political falsehoods, which it generally permits. Facebook said it has taken down hundreds of thousands of false posts that could be harmful and in March displayed warnings on another 40 million dubious claims related to the virus, without removing them. The new alert is a concession to critics who have long called for Facebook to "correct the record" by telling users about posts it later removes or labels as false. The alerts will not inform users they are receiving the nudge because they had previously liked, reacted or commented on false posts, nor will they debunk specific claims. The European Commissioner for values and transparency Vera Jourova welcomed the latest measures but said more still needed to be done.

Source: bd News24 April 16, 2020 20:26 UTC