Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter Inc. and Square Inc., speaking at an Empowering Entrepreneurs event at Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Tuesday, April 2, 2019.
Cole Burston | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Twitter on Wednesday announced that starting next week, it will moderate and in some cases remove harmful misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines administered this week in the US.
Specifically, Twitter said it will take action against false claims suggesting that immunizations and vaccines are used to control populations, false claims that have been widely debunked about the adverse effects of the vaccines and false claims that Covid-19 is not real is and therefore vaccinations are not necessary. The company added that it will take action in response to statements about the vaccines provoking a deliberate conspiracy.
The company also said it could post labels or warnings on tweets in 2021 that highlight unsubstantiated rumors, disputed claims, and non-contextual information about vaccines. Those labels will direct Twitter users to authoritative public health information, the company said.
This follows on from Facebook, which announced earlier this month that it would begin removing misinformation about the coronavirus vaccines as countries around the world begin rolling them out.