Facebook Blocks Mysterious Russian Firm Behind Campaign Smearing Vaccines

AP: Facebook Bans Firm Behind Pfizer, AstraZeneca Smear Campaign
Facebook said Tuesday that it has removed hundreds of accounts linked to a mysterious advertising agency operating out of Russia that sought to pay social media influencers to smear COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and AstraZeneca. A network of 65 Facebook accounts and 243 Instagram accounts was traced back to Fazze, an advertising and marketing firm working in Russia on behalf of an unknown client. The network used fake accounts to spread misleading claims that disparaged the safety of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines. One claimed AstraZeneca’s shot would turn a person into a chimpanzee. The fake accounts targeted audiences in India, Latin America and, to a lesser extent, the U.S., using several social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram. (8/10)

The New York Times: YouTube Suspends Rand Paul For A Week Over A Video Disputing The Effectiveness Of Masks
YouTube on Tuesday removed a video by Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky for the second time and suspended him from publishing for a week after he posted a video that disputed the effectiveness of wearing masks to limit the spread of the coronavirus. A YouTube spokesperson said the Republican senator’s claims in the three-minute video had violated the company’s policy on Covid-19 medical misinformation. The company policy bans videos that spread a wide variety of misinformation, including “claims that masks do not play a role in preventing the contraction or transmission of Covid-19.” (Victor, 8/11)

The New York Times: Twitter Suspends Marjorie Taylor Greene For 7 Days Over Vaccine Misinformation
Twitter on Tuesday suspended Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, from its service for seven days after she posted that the Food and Drug Administration should not give the coronavirus vaccines full approval and that the vaccines were “failing.” The company said this was Ms. Greene’s fourth “strike,” which means that under its rules she can be permanently barred if she violates Twitter’s coronavirus misinformation policy again. The company issued her third strike less than a month ago. (Alba, 8/10)

The Washington Post: Republicans Raise Money On Facebook By Tying Migrant Influx To Covid Surge 
Facebook has allowed prominent Republican officials and candidates — including the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference — to use the platform’s powerful ad technologies to raise money by associating migrants with the surge of coronavirus infections in the southern United States. The ads, whose central claim has been rejected by doctors and fact-checkers, illustrate the platform’s inconsistent approach to defining coronavirus misinformation, especially when elected officials are involved. Facebook’s management of misleading content is under intense scrutiny by the Biden administration as coronavirus case numbers climb again in the United States and health authorities grapple with the role of social media in shaping anti-vaccine attitudes. Biden raised alarm about the issue last month when he said in relation to Facebook, “They’re killing people.” (Stanley-Becker, 8/10)

Stat: A WHO Official On Why We Need A Global Vaccine Misinformation Strategy
The creation of effective vaccines has offered a lifeline in the worst pandemic in world history. But targeted use of technology to support vaccination and combat the spread of false information will prove crucial to putting it more squarely in the rearview mirror. To drive that point home, Hans Kluge, Europe region director of the WHO, visited the conference of the Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) in Las Vegas on Tuesday to discuss the pressing need for global strategies to fight misinformation and leverage AI to identify — and swiftly assist — communities with low vaccination rates. (Ross, 8/11)