Change of gear at Facebook.
The social network will no longer ban the publication of theories claiming that the Covid-19 was created by man, when the hypothesis of a laboratory accident in China is returning to the American debate.
"In light of current investigations into the origins of Covid-19 and in consultation with health experts, we will no longer remove from our platforms claims that Covid-19 was created by humans or was made, ”said the group, which also owns Instagram, on its website on Wednesday.
The social network, used by some 3.45 billion people on at least one of its four platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp) goes against its previous rules on disinformation in times of Covid-19, themselves updated last February.
They then planned to ban theories suggesting a human hand behind the virus, as well as the alleged ineffectiveness of vaccines or the fact that these anti-Covid sera could be toxic or dangerous.
Read alsoSeveral countries call on the WHO to continue its investigation in China
“We continue to work with experts to monitor the changing nature of the pandemic and regularly update our policies as new facts and trends emerge,” says Facebook.
Because at the same time, the theory of a laboratory accident in Wuhan, China, has come back in force in recent weeks in the American debate, after being long brushed aside by most experts.
And calls for more in-depth investigation are growing within the scientific community.
The White House wants a report
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called on his intelligence services to "redouble their efforts" to explain the origin of Covid-19 and demanded a report within 90 days. The leader recalled that the work of American intelligence, which focuses on two hypotheses, animal original or leakage from a laboratory, have so far not made it possible to reach "a definitive conclusion".
After a four-week stay in Wuhan at the start of the year, a joint study by WHO and Chinese experts had for its part judged in March "extremely unlikely" a laboratory accident. The United States and thirteen allied countries later expressed their "concerns" in a joint statement about the report, calling on China to give "full access" to its data. The first cases of Covid-19 were identified at the end of 2019 in Wuhan, before the virus spread across the globe and killed nearly 3.5 million people.
