Facebook removes Trump post over false COVID-19 claim citing content policy violation

In a first of its kind move, Facebook removed a post from US President Donald Trump’s page for spreading false claims about COVID-19 infection on Thursday, August 5. The social media giant has faced severe criticism for going lenient on Trump's controversial posts citing 'freedom of speech'.  

According to reports, the deleted post contained a video clip from one of Trump's recent interview wherein he asserted that children were ‘almost immune from COVID-19’. 

As there have been cases where children have become severely ill or died from the virus, Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone is reported to have stated that the video was taken down for ‘false claims’. He said that the video posted by Trump suggested that a group of people is immune from COVID-19 while facts state otherwise and the false claims amounted to a violation of the company's policies around harmful misinformation around COVID-19. 

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This is the first time that Facebook has removed a Trump post for false claims/misinformation. The social network's move also marks a rare instance in which it has been willing to censor the US President. 

Back in June, Facebook also had removed advertisements run by the Trump campaign for reportedly using a Nazi symbol. Recently, the social media company was closely scrutinised for its handling of Trump’s posts.

Earlier, Facebook’s refusal to take action on one of Trump's posts following mass protests in the wake of George Floyd's death had sparked outrage. In the post, Trump appeared to call for violence against protestors. The social media platform's reluctance to take down the post led to civil rights groups organising an advertising boycott campaign against Facebook.

(Image Credits: AP) 

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