Covid misinfo: FB freezes Venezuela President's page

San Francisco, March 28 (IANS) In a bid to tackle spread of misinformation related to Covid-19, Facebook has temporarily frozen the page of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro who had promoted a "miracle remedy" to cure the novel coronavirus disease.The social networking platform also took down a video where Maduro touted Carvativir, a homeopathic remedy extracted from the herb thyme which is also used in ordinary cooking, The Verge reported on Saturday.The Venezuelan President earlier termed the solution as "miracle drops" and a "medical breakthrough."These promotions of the solution whose efficacy is not proven came at a time when Venezuela lagged far behind many other countries in procuring vaccines against Covid-19.Maduro's claims that Carvatavir can treat Covid-19 has been termed "dangerous" by doctors in the country, said the report.In defence of its move to freeze the Venezuelan President's page, a Facebook spokesperson told The Verge the platform follows guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) which says there is no cure for Covid-19."Due to repeated violations of our rules, we are also freezing the page for 30 days, during which it will be read-only," the spokesperson was quoted as saying.Facebook's policy requires removal of false claims against Covid-19, but the platform's efforts to combat misinformation can at best be called a mixed success.
--IANS gb/dpb