Amid emerging new information, Facebook lifts ban on posts that claim COVID-19 was man-made
conduct a deeper probe into the origins of COVID-19 after reports that three scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China were hospitalized in late 2019 with symptoms that are consistent with COVID.
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden said in a statement he asked the intel agencies to report within 90 days on the likely origins of COVID-19, with the hopes “will collect and analyze information that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion.” The move is a sharp departure from the White House’s stance that the World Health Organization (WHO) should take the lead to reveal the virus came from.
Instagram and Facebook will let users hide ‘likes’ on posts
Blockbuster deal::Amazon to buy MGM studio, home to James Bond, ‘Handmaid’s Tale,’ for $8.45 billion
A Facebook spokesperson said Wednesday in an emailed statement that the company regularly updates a list of claims that have been removed from the platform during the pandemic on the advice of health experts.
The spokesperson also added that the original language had been removed from the list because of the surging debate about where the virus originated.
“In light of ongoing investigations into the origin of COVID-19 and in consultation with public health experts, we will no longer remove the claim that COVID-19 is man-made from our apps,” the Facebook spokesperson said. “We’re continuing to work with health experts to keep pace with the evolving nature of the pandemic and regularly update our policies as new facts and trends emerge.”