On 27 March 2021, Facebook said that it is freezing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s Facebook page for a month. According to Facebook, the page has repeatedly breached Facebook’s policies regarding COVID-19 misinformation.
President Maduro’s Facebook Page Is Now Read-Only
A Facebook spokesperson told Reuters that there were multiple warnings issued to Maduro’s Facebook page, but to no avail. Finally, Facebook has taken strict action which means “freezing the page for 30 days, during which it will be read-only.”
The page repeatedly advocated Carvativir as a miracle cure for COVID-19. The solution is made using thyme, and there is no evidence to show that it is helpful for COVID-19 patients. Maduro, on the other hand, described Carvativir as a “miracle” that can cure COVID without any side effects.
#UPDATE Facebook says it is “freezing” Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s page for a month after repeated violations of the platform’s rules against Covid-19 misinformationhttps://t.co/fkv8Re6UVM
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 27, 2021
Facebook went on to cite the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines that state, “there is no medication to cure the virus.” Venezuelan doctors have also directed people to be wary of unproven remedies like Carvativir.
President Nicolás Maduro, who is classified as a dictator by the United States of America, has promoted other unproven remedies for COVID-19 on his Facebook page.
The Venezuelan Government’s Response to Facebook’s Decision
The Venezuelan information ministry has lashed back at Facebook, accusing the company of “digital totalitarianism.” The ministry further went on to state that Facebook is removing “content geared toward combating the pandemic.”
Back in February, Maduro said on television:
They say that until the WHO says yes, I cannot talk about Carvativir. Who is in charge in Venezuela? The owner of Facebook? Who is in charge of the world? The owner of Facebook?
This was in response to Facebook’s move to censor videos that promoted Carvativir as a COVID-19 cure.
Facebook Has Been Criticized for Not Cracking Down on COVID-19 Misinformation
Facebook has been accused of not doing enough to prevent the spread of COVID-19 misinformation on its platform.
Since then, Facebook claims to have deployed automated systems to find and remove false claims regarding COVID-19. Specifically, the systems have removed 12 million posts that deal with COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation.
Facebook’s automatic moderating system covers both Facebook and Instagram.
Even though these numbers may seem impressive, there are too many people buying in to false data concerning COVID-19. Facebook and other social media platforms still have a long way to go when it comes to removing potentially dangerous information such as Maduro’s claims about Carvativir.