The Political Insider

Back on February 8, Facebook announced that it would restrict posts about claims that COVID-19 might be man-made or manufactured.

In other words, claims like, for example, that COVID was released or leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan, China.

Now, Facebook is lifting its ban, according to a Politico report on Wednesday.

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Facebook Ban Lifted ‘In Light Of Ongoing Investigations’

Politico reported, “Facebook will no longer take down posts claiming that Covid-19 was man-made or manufactured, a company spokesperson told POLITICO on Wednesday, a move that acknowledges the renewed debate about the virus’ origins.”

The original ban came into being when the Big Tech company consulted the World Health Organization.

But now, “in light of ongoing investigations,” the ban will be removed due to “new” debate around the true origin of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many commentators, including President Trump, have claimed for months that there is a possibility that the virus was released or leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Such comments were banned from Facebook and ridiculed by the mainstream media.

TIME Magazine explains in a headline: “How Distrust of Donald Trump Muddled the COVID-19 ‘Lab Leak’ Debate.”

What changed?

Politico observed that “President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he has ordered the intelligence community to “redouble” its efforts to find out the virus’ origin and report back in 90 days.”

Facebook Has Taken A Hardline Approach To ‘Disinformation’

“Biden also revealed that the intelligence community is split between two theories about Covid-19’s origin, and said the review will examine ‘whether it emerged from human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory accident,” Politico noted.

“Bipartisan support is also building on Capitol Hill for a congressional inquiry,” the outlet also observed.

Facebook has taken a hardline approach to anything it perceives as ‘disinformation’ about COVID-19 throughout the pandemic.

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Facebook: ‘We Will No Longer Remove The Claim That COVID-19 Is Man-Made’

The social media company said they put warning labels on more than 50 million pieces of content in just April 2020 alone based on articles from “independent fact-checkers.”

“In light of ongoing investigations into the origin of COVID-19 and in consultation with public health experts, we will no longer remove the claim that COVID-19 is man-made from our apps,” A Facebook spokesperson told Politico in an emailed statement.

“We’re continuing to work with health experts to keep pace with the evolving nature of the pandemic and regularly update our policies as new facts and trends emerge,” the spokesperson added.