Facebook is happy to let politicians lie in advertisements on the platform, but it bans pro-vaccination ads that are rooted in science.
The study, published today in the journal Vaccine…found that a small group of “well-connected, powerful people” promoting broad anti-vaccination messages had successfully leveraged the platform’s targeted advertising service to reach select audiences…Meanwhile, those behind pro-vaccine messages well far less well funded and centralised, with their advertising often focusing on inoculating against specific conditions.
Check It Out: Facebook is Fine With Political Lies But Bans Pro-Vaccination Ads
What are we waiting to fine and send to jail all those people killing themselves and others because they promote anti-vaccination? Only two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the former. — Albert Einstein.
“FB remains a platform open to abuse by skilled, coordinated disinformation artists both private and state sponsored, and hostile to fact-based information designed to promote informed choice, be it health, social or political in nature.
One can think of few better examples than active suppression of fact and truth that define oppression and dystopia.”
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Andrew:
Although not surprising, this news is no less simultaneously disappointing and alarming. FB and their CEO continue to act on all the wrong instincts, and lack sufficient informed and responsible oversight in order to protect themselves from inflicting harm on society and their own business.
While I was not an author on this piece, I do know of some of the authors and their prior work, and their methodology is sound. I also know the editor of Vaccine and have published in the journal, both with original scientific work and editorials, and can vouch that the bar for publication in the journal is high, as it should be. It is a highly respected, high impact journal whose name declares its primary scientific focus, and is a primary reference for all things vaccine related.
The article outlines a policy that selects against advertisers trying to promote factual information relevant to public health. A key takeaway is the need for those supporting evidence-based vaccine information to better understand their audience and to coordinate on key messages that will require repetition for audience uptake. In science, this is known as standardisation, where an interaction is done in the same way with every public encounter. Perhaps it’s now time for scientists to take the same approach in their public communications.
FB remains a platform open to abuse by skilled, coordinated disinformation artists both private and state sponsored, and hostile to fact-based information designed to promote informed choice, be it health, social or political in nature.
One can think of few better examples than active suppression of fact and truth that define oppression and dystopia.