Facebook finally cracks down on anti-vaccination conspiracy theories

Facebook is crawling with anti-vaccine conspiracy theories. Now the company will finally do something about it.

The company announced a series of new policies aimed at combatting the spread of anti-vaccine content on its platform. The new policies, which will make it harder to find false information about vaccines, come after mounting public pressure to take a more active role in fighting viral misinformation critics say has contributed to the outbreaks of preventable diseases.

In some ways, the efforts are similar to Facebook's fight against fake news. The company isn't banning anti-vaccine content outright, but making it more difficult to find, and reducing the chance it will go viral. At the same time, Facebook is looking for ways to surface accurate information to people who search for content or are invited to groups that promote conspiracy theories related to vaccines. Read more...