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Twitter to start removing COVID-19 vaccine misinformation next week

Twitter
Posted at 4:57 PM, Dec 18, 2020
and last updated 2020-12-18 18:57:24-05

Twitter says it will begin removing misinformation about COVID-19 vaccinations from its site.

That includes false claims that the virus is not real, debunked claims about the effects of receiving the vaccine.

It will also remove baseless claims suggesting immunizations and vaccines are used to intentionally cause harm or to control people.

Twitter said in a blog post on Wednesday that it will start enforcing the new policy next week.

If people send tweets in violation of the rules, they will be required to delete them before they are able to tweet again.

Before the offending tweet is removed, Twitter will hide it from view.

Starting early next year, Twitter said it may label tweets that advance "unsubstantiated rumors, disputed claims, as well as incomplete or out-of-context information about vaccines" but may not be removed, instead be linked to "authoritative public health information" on the social media company's rules page that'll "provide people with additional context and authoritative information about COVID-19."