Facebook to no longer remove claims that Covid-19 was lab made

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Facebook will no longer remove claims posted on its platforms that Covid-19 is either man-made or lab manufactured, as US President Joe Biden has called upon intelligence agencies to probe the so-called "lab-leak hypothesis". The social network had earlier banned such claims as part of its Covid-19 misinformation policy. A Facebook spokesperson said on Wednesday that the origin language had been removed from that policy, due to the renewed debate about the virus' origin.

"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," the spokesperson told Politico. "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.

Also read: Covid-19: Facebook launches in-app vaccine finder tool in India

Biden said in a statement that on Covid-19 origin, he has now "asked the Intelligence Community to redouble their efforts to collect and analyse information that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion, and to report back to me in 90 days". "As part of that report, I have asked for areas of further inquiry that may be required, including specific questions for China. I have also asked that this effort include work by our National Labs and other agencies of our government to augment the Intelligence Community's efforts," the US President added.

The intelligence community believes that two scenarios are possible: The virus started spreading when a human contacted an infected animal, or that the spread was the result of a lab accident. The US, Biden said, will also keep working with like-minded partners around the world to press China to participate in a full, transparent, evidence-based international investigation and to provide access to all relevant data and evidence.

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