The Daily Caller News Foundation – John Hugh DeMastri on January 19, 2023 Facebook made content moderation decisions based on communications with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) throughout 2021, according to documents published Thursday by Reason. Facebook staffers regularly sent claims to the CDC to be fact checked, but also asked whether the beliefs could “cause harm,” according to Reason. “Thanks so much again for you and team’s help in debunking a few COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation claims for us,” a Facebook staffer — whose identity was redacted by Reason —wrote to CDC health communications specialist Carol Crawford on May 24, 2021. Facebook routinely took direction from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding COVID-19 moderation and fact-checking policies throughout 2021, according to documents published Thursday by Reason. Facebook regularly reached out to CDC staff throughout the year, requesting guidance on the accuracy of claims about both COVID-19 vaccines and the disease itself, in addition to guidance on whether the claims might “cause harm,” according to Reason. The social media titan would regularly make decisions based on this communication, notably reversing its monthslong prohibition on users claiming that COVID-19 leaked from a Chinese laboratory on May 26, 2021, after a conversation with
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CDC Regularly Called The Shots On Facebook's COVID-19 Censorship Decisions, Docs Show
