Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says the social network has ‘high bar’ for removing content

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg said Tuesday that the social network has a “fairly high bar” for content retrieval, but the company will draw the line if a contribution could result in physical harm.

Zuckerberg notes that social networks deal with jokes and conspiracy theories about the novel coronavirus that causes respiratory disease COVID-19. In early May, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube had problems controlling the spread of a virus Planemic Video that contains various coronavirus conspiracy theories. Facebook removed the video because Judy Mikovits, a controversial former medical researcher, suggested that wearing medical masks can make people sick.

Facebook has come under fire for allowing politicians to lie in political ads and posts, but Zuckerberg pointed out that misinformation about coronaviruses is different because misinformation about a cure can cause physical harm. For example, there have been false claims that drinking bleach can cure the coronavirus.

“One of the things that is different during a pandemic is that when people say that something is a cure, although it could actually hurt you, I think it is qualitatively different and within the long tradition of speaking and Our country’s freedom of expression I think you want to have a fairly high bar to tell people they can’t say anything, “said Zuckerberg in an interview with Norah O’Donnell, moderator of the CBS Evening News. (Disclosure: CBS News and CNET are owned by the same parent company, ViacomCBS.) The east coast edition of the CBS Evening News had not been aired Tuesday due to technical difficulties.

Zuckerberg said the company would also seek out misinformation about coronaviruses published by politicians if it could cause physical harm. The company removed a video by Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro in March, in which the politician incorrectly claims that “hydroxychloroquine works everywhere.” According to the U.S. Department of Health, clinical trials are still needed to prove whether the drug is effective. However, there are occasional reports that it could have some use.

If the misinformation does not result in physical harm, the company leaves the post office, but puts up a warning sign after the fact checkers have checked the information. Facebook is also trying to guide people to more accurate sources of information through an online hub called Coronavirus Information Center.