Facebook temporarily freezes Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's page for spreading COVID-19 misinformation
Mar 28, 2021, 14:29 IST
In a bid to tackle spread of misinformation related to Covid-19, Facebook has temporarily frozen the page of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro who had promoted a "miracle remedy" to cure the novel coronavirus disease.
The social networking platform also took down a video where Maduro touted Carvativir, a homeopathic remedy extracted from the herb thyme which is also used in ordinary cooking, The Verge reported on Saturday.
The Venezuelan President earlier termed the solution as "miracle drops" and a "medical breakthrough."
These promotions of the solution whose efficacy is not proven came at a time when Venezuela lagged far behind many other countries in procuring vaccines against Covid-19.
Maduro's claims that Carvatavir can treat Covid-19 has been termed "dangerous" by doctors in the country, said the report.
In defence of its move to freeze the Venezuelan President's page, a Facebook spokesperson told The Verge the platform follows guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) which says there is no cure for Covid-19.
"Due to repeated violations of our rules, we are also freezing the page for 30 days, during which it will be read-only," the spokesperson was quoted as saying.
Facebook's policy requires removal of false claims against Covid-19, but the platform's efforts to combat misinformation can at best be called a mixed success.
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The social networking platform also took down a video where Maduro touted Carvativir, a homeopathic remedy extracted from the herb thyme which is also used in ordinary cooking, The Verge reported on Saturday.
The Venezuelan President earlier termed the solution as "miracle drops" and a "medical breakthrough."
These promotions of the solution whose efficacy is not proven came at a time when Venezuela lagged far behind many other countries in procuring vaccines against Covid-19.
Maduro's claims that Carvatavir can treat Covid-19 has been termed "dangerous" by doctors in the country, said the report.
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"Due to repeated violations of our rules, we are also freezing the page for 30 days, during which it will be read-only," the spokesperson was quoted as saying.
Facebook's policy requires removal of false claims against Covid-19, but the platform's efforts to combat misinformation can at best be called a mixed success.
SEE ALSO:
‘God of Chaos’ asteroid Apophis won’t be crashing into Earth for at least another century
Making vaccines available to Indians may not be enough, it depends on how judiciously we employ them
Madhya Pradesh’s Kanha National Park hosts a special guest. And, no, it’s not the tiger