Facebook reverses policy on ban of posts saying Covid-19 was man-made

Social media giants, Facebook have said it will no longer remove from its platforms claims that coronavirus was man-made.

The announcement comes shortly after US President Joe Biden announced he had directed the US intelligence community to restart an investigation into the origin of Covid-19.

Biden announced Wednesday, May 26, he had given the US officials 90 days to investigate the virus’ origins.

The announcement came after a US intelligence report found several researchers at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology fell ill in November 2019 and had to be hospitalized, a new detail that was not revealed before.

The Trump administration had touted claims that Coronavirus was man made i.e created in a Chinese lab, but China vigorously denied that assertion with the World Health Organization (WHO) also touting China’s stance that the virus originated from animals.

Following Biden’s announcement of more investigations into Covid-19 origins, Facebook has now announces a change of policy.

A Facebook spokesperson said to CNN on Wednesday night;

“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.”

“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,” the spokesperson added.

Facebook as part of its fact check policies announced in February it would remove claims that the virus was man-made following “consultations with leading health organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO).” 

Facebook had previously deleted posts that spread vaccine misinformation and other Covid-19 claims that were not approved by the WHO.