Facebook’s Stunning About Face! The Tech Giant Is No Longer Banning Posts Claiming COVID Is Man-Made.

In a stunning about face, Facebook announced Wednesday they will no longer remove posts on their platform that claim COVID-19 was man-made or manufactured. 

There has been a fast-growing drumbeat in Washington calling for a thorough and full investigation into China’s direct involvement in the virus, and the move by Facebook reflects that sentiment. 

A Wall Street Journal story reports that three scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology were hospitalized in late 2019 with symptoms that were very similar to coronavirus. 

So, the theory of the so-called Wuhan lab-leak which the mainstream media, Dr. Anthony Fauci and many other Democratic politicians had labeled as crackpot or fringe conspiracy theories, are now being taken very seriously. 

Joe Biden has become vocal about the issue as well, saying Wednesday that he ordered the intelligence community to “redouble” their efforts to get to the bottom of the origin of COVID-19. He wants a report delivered in 90 days. 

Was the virus accidentally intentionally released? Or did it accidentally escape from the lab? Those are two theories that will almost certainly propagate Facebook posts and other social media outlets now. 

Back in February Facebook made their very controversial announcement that they expanded the list of misleading claims that it would scrub from all their platforms. Included in that was any assertion that “COVID-19 is man-made or manufactured.”

At that time Facebook updated their policies against false and misleading coronavirus information.

And now they are updating it yet again, saying the renewed debate about the origin of COVID was the reason they changed their mind. 

Here’s an excerpt from their official statement: 

“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. 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.”