This is a sticky one. I was a little nervous about even posting it, because I might get a taste of FB jail, but
whatever, I’ll roll the dice.
It seems that Facebook is super concerned about misinformation these days and I don’t blame them. Society is basically using the instruments of social media to regulate each other so it stands to reason that Meta’s flagship platform is being scrutinized.
The Jury is not exactly “in” on this conversation but it generally appears that Facebook does not penalize brands simply for mentioning COVID-19. However, the platform has strict policies regarding COVID-19 misinformation, particularly in relation to vaccines. Facebook has been actively working to identify and remove misinformation related to COVID-19 that could potentially contribute to the spread of the virus or pose a risk to public health. This effort includes the removal of accounts, pages, and groups that repeatedly violate Facebook’s rules against spreading COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation. Over 3,000 accounts, pages, and groups have been removed for such violations, along with more than 20 million pieces of content.
Furthermore, Facebook has imposed penalties on pages, groups, or accounts linked to individuals spreading vaccine misinformation. These penalties include measures such as moving posts lower in the News Feed to reduce visibility, not recommending them to others, and applying penalties to website domains associated with these accounts so that posts including their website content are moved lower in the News Feed. ( link )
In summary, while Facebook does not penalize brands or individuals for simply mentioning COVID-19, it does take action against the spread of misinformation related to the virus, particularly misinformation about vaccines. This is part of their broader strategy to ensure the safety and accuracy of information shared on the platform.