Facebook bans coronavirus fake news, false cures and conspiracy theories

Facebook has announced a ban on coronavirus conspiracy theories and will now work to ‘limit the spread of misinformation and harmful content about the virus’.

The social network wants to stop the circulation false claims and fake news about the disease, whilst still ‘connecting people to helpful information’.

It also wants to stop dodgy videos offering coronavirus ‘cures’ going viral, warning that people are being advised to drink bleach to beat the bug.

The World Health Organisation has now declared the coronavirus public health emergency of international concern and two people in the UK have tested positive for the disease.

‘As the global public health community works to keep people safe, Facebook is supporting their work in several ways, most especially by working to limit the spread of misinformation and harmful content about the virus and connecting people to helpful information.

‘Our global network of third-party fact-checkers are continuing their work reviewing content and debunking false claims that are spreading related to the coronavirus.

‘When they rate information as false, we limit its spread on Facebook and Instagram and show people accurate information from these partners. We also send notifications to people who already shared or are trying to share this content to alert them that it’s been fact-checked.

‘We will also start to remove content with false claims or conspiracy theories that have been flagged by leading global health organizations and local health authorities that could cause harm to people who believe them.

‘We are doing this as an extension of our existing policies to remove content that could cause physical harm. We’re focusing on claims that are designed to discourage treatment or taking appropriate precautions.’

‘This includes claims related to false cures or prevention methods — like drinking bleach cures the coronavirus — or claims that create confusion about health resources that are available. We will also block or restrict hashtags used to spread misinformation on Instagram, and are conducting proactive sweeps to find and remove as much of this content as we can.;

Wild claims are already circulating online about the origins of the Wuhan coronavirus.

Scientists have not yet unequivocally proved the origins of the disease, although it’s been suggested that the virus formed in bats and then ‘jumped’ to humans.

But in the absence of proper explanations, conspiracy theorists have stepped in to offer their own bizarre false claims about the coronavirus.

Many of the theories follow a similar argument and suggest that some mysterious group is behind the release of the disease.

Others claim China is covering up the extent of the disease’s spread.

Here are three of the batty, unproven or downright bonkers ideas about the coronavirus which are spreading right now.

Coronavirus is a bioweapon

This is perhaps the most common theory doing the rounds and suggest the virus was made by China, a shadowy global elite or whoever else is alleged to be secretly running the world.

It’s often claimed that rich, powerful people want to depopulate Earth by killing billions of people.

One quote used to support this claim comes from Prince Phillip, who said in 1988: ‘In the event that I am reincarnated, I would like to return as a deadly virus, to contribute something to solving overpopulation.’

And a great way to do this would be to quietly build a dangerous little virus, set it loose and then sit back as the world dies off.

Of course, we’re not saying Prince Phillip unleashed the coronavirus.

A rumour doing the rounds online suggests there are secret Chinese bioweapon facilities in Wuhan which released the disease.

However, this has been denied and most experts think the bug evolved in the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan.

The outbreak was ‘planned’

China and other nations are struggling to contain the spread of coronavirus.

But some people think it was released on purpose.

YouTuber Jordan Sather shared one conspiracy theory with his 115,000 followers on Twitter.

He linked to a patent filed by the Pirbright Institute in Surrey, England, which related to developing a weakened version of the virus to be used in vaccines.

The YouTuber also claimed the Bill and Melissa Gates Foundation funded the Institute’s research.

‘Was the release of this disease planned?’ he asked.

‘Is the media being used to incite fear around it?

‘Is the Cabal desperate for money, so they’re tapping their Big Pharma reserves?

‘Are there vaccines already being manufactured to “fight” this? Coordinated all along?’

Sadly for Sather, the Bill and Melissa Gates Foundation told Buzzfeed: ”The patented work cited in the conspiracy theories involved infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) only, and we made four changes in the gene responsible for replicating the virus’s genetic material.

‘This has weakened the virus so it is no longer able to cause disease and has potential to be used as a vaccine, but has not yet been developed.

‘The patented work was completed in 2015 and is not funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.”’

The true extent of the disease is being covered up

China has history when it comes to cover-ups. It tried to hide the SARS outbreak in 2003 and rumours that it’s hiding the true extent of the coronavirus.

These claims have been bolstered by various videos circulating on social media showing medical ‘whistleblowers’.

These masked figures claim that almost 100,000 people have been infected by the virus, meaning it’s much more severe than believed.

It’s more or less impossible to get accurate figures from Chinese authorities, so at the moment the whistleblowers’ claims cannot be totally dismissed.

‘I think there is [a] possibility that she thinks she is telling the truth, because no one knows the truth,’ Badiucao, a Chinese political activist based in Australia told the BBC.

‘No transparency [has] just left people guessing and panicking.’