Facebook vowed to crack down on Covid-19 vaccine misinformation but misleading posts remain easy to find

When searching for the word “vaccine” on Facebook’s groups feature last week, three of the top 20 results surfaced by the platform led to groups promoting anti-vaccine content, including groups called “Say No Covid 19 Vaccine,” “COVID-19 Vaccine Injury Stories” and “Vaccine Talk: A Forum for Both Pro and Anti Vaxxers” — which has more than 50,000 members. The list fluctuates. A few days later, none of these groups were in the top 20, but results 18 through 20 pointed to groups discussing side effects of the vaccine or adverse reactions. Scrolling down further, it was easy to find other anti-vaxxer groups in the search results, including one titled “Unvaccinated and Thriving,” which makes widely and consistently debunked claims in its description linking vaccines with autism and other disorders and diseases. It’s unclear what powers Facebook’s search recommendations and why the results change day to day. Facebook did not offer a clear explanation after repeated requests for comment.

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