Topline: Facebook will begin taking down any ads that promise a cure for the coronavirus, as the platform battles the rapid spread of conspiracy theories and fake cures—including drinking bleach to cure the disease—that have erupted in panic and confusion over the epidemic on social media.



<ul><li>A Facebook spokesperson&nbsp;<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Business/facebook-cracking-ads-guarantee-coronavirus-cure/story?id=69232010" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told&nbsp;</a>Forbes&nbsp;it will remove ads for products “that refer to the coronavirus and create a sense of urgency, like implying a limited supply, or guaranteeing a cure or prevention.”</li><li>The spokesperson added that, for example, “ads with claims like face masks that are 100% guaranteed to prevent the spread of the virus will not be allowed.”</li><li>Health experts warn the spread of misinformation, fake cures and conspiracy theories about coronavirus can actively cause harm and undermine trust in government institutions. “We need a vaccine against misinformation,” said Mike Ryan, head of the WHO health emergencies program, in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/transcripts/who-audio-emergencies-coronavirus-full-press-conference-13feb2020-final.pdf?sfvrsn=b5435aa2_2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">meeting&nbsp;</a>this month.</li><li>&nbsp;A number of false cures have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.factcheck.org/2020/02/fake-coronavirus-cures-part-1-mms-is-industrial-bleach/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">spread&nbsp;</a>on Facebook in the past few months, including one claiming that drinking bleach can cure the virus, according to FactCheck.org.</li><li>Facebook already said in January it will outright remove posts flagged by global health organizations and local health authorities with potentially harmful false cures or prevention methods for the coronavirus.</li><li>But the company also said last month it won’t remove other false claims about the virus, opting instead to fact-check, demote them in the news feed and point users to reliable information from the World Health Organization.</li></ul>



Key background: Facebook has struggled to contain disinformation since the 2016 election and has faced criticism for not removing ads from politicians that contain lies. But misleading or untrue medical claims have been a particularly thorny issue for the platform. Facebook banned misleading ads about vaccines last year, but&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/facebook-anti-vaxxers-pushed-mom-not-give-her-son-tamiflu-n1131936" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">private Facebook groups</a>&nbsp;have become hotbeds of medical misinformation, and some ads expressing skepticism about vaccines haven’t been<a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/carolinehaskins1/facebook-running-anti-vax-ads-despite-ban-anti" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;taken down</a>. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly said that Facebook shouldn’t be an arbiter of truth, and company policy is to be usually&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2019/05/28/you-can-still-watch-that-doctored-pelosi-video-on-facebook-watch-without-any-warning/#5e57f13976e8">reluctant&nbsp;</a>to remove posts and ads at all.&nbsp;



News peg: More than 81,000 people globally have been infected with the virus as of Wednesday, and more 2,700 have died. The World Health Organization hasn’t declared the virus a pandemic, but Europe, the Middle East and the U.S. are preparing for an outbreak as cases outside China continue to surge. 



&#8211; <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/">Rachel Sandler</a>, Forbes Staff , Breaking News

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Facebook Bans Ads Promising A Cure To The Coronavirus

Topline: As the number of coronavirus cases surpasses <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/world/coronavirus-maps.html?action=click&amp;pgtype=Article&amp;state=default&amp;module=styln-coronavirus&amp;variant=show&amp;region=TOP_BANNER&amp;context=storyline_menu" target="_blank">110,000 people</a> worldwide, with more reported daily, the federal government has issued a number of travel advisories⁠—here’s where to avoid, and where it’s probably okay to visit: 



<ul><li>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Centers for Disease Control</a>&nbsp;has three levels of travel advisories, with Level 1 being the lowest caution and Level 3 being the highest (with China, Iran, Italy and South Korea on that Level 3 list).</li><li>The CDC has designated Japan with a Level 2 advisory due to ongoing community transmission of the disease, which means older people and people with chronic underlying medical conditions should reconsider traveling there, while Hong Kong is a Level 1 advisory, based on its risk of limited community transmission.</li><li>The&nbsp;<a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">State Department</a>&nbsp;also has a four tier travel advisory system, with Level 4 being the most severe warning, and says travel to Level 3 countries Azerbaijan, Mongolia and Turkmenistan should be reconsidered due to the outbreak; the department released a&nbsp;<a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/COVID-19-Country-Specific-Information.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">complete country-by-country advisory database</a>&nbsp;on Monday specifically for coronavirus.</li><li>“I think you can go anywhere [internationally] if you don’t mind being delayed by 14 days,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious diseases scholar at Johns Hopkins University, adding, “it’s not in terms of ‘it’s safe’ or ‘not safe,’ but logistically feasible to get home in time” if a traveler is quarantined.</li><li>Adalja said that domestic travel within the U.S. is safe for most people, (and the CDC&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hasn’t recommended</a>&nbsp;travel restrictions within the U.S.) but “if you’re older or have underlying medical conditions, reconsider nonessential travel because we are likely seeing more community spread.”</li><li>“We have to dispel the notion that coronavirus is a travel-related illness,” said Adalja, because the virus has likely been spreading since November, and health officials are catching up to containment and treatment.</li></ul>



Crucial quote: &#8220;We already have community transmission within the United States,&#8221; Shira Doran, an infectious disease specialist at Tufts University, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/03/06/812650868/coronavirus-travel-tips-to-fly-or-not-to-fly-what-happens-if-you-cancel" target="_blank">told NPR</a> Friday. &#8220;So, at some point, it&#8217;s not going to be any riskier to go to another country than it is to stay right here.&#8221;



Key background:&nbsp;The coronavirus outbreak has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabeltogoh/2020/02/28/updated-here-are-the-destinations-affected-by-coronavirus-flight-cancellations-and-travel-bans/#4b33e377cd68">thrown a wrench</a>&nbsp;into travel worldwide, with numerous airlines cancelling flights, cruise ships quarantining passengers and even domestic trains, such as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/7/21169393/amtrak-canceling-nonstop-acela-new-york-washington-dc-coronavirus" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Amtrak’s Acela</a>, canceling service between major cities. Travelers around the world have been quarantined as countries work to contain the disease. Multiple&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/03/03/811728989/coronavirus-cancellations-and-travel-bans-google-is-latest" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">businesses</a>&nbsp;and corporations have suspended travel for employees. Major conferences and events, like the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2020/03/06/sxsw-cancelled-amidst-coronavirus-fears/">South By Southwest</a>&nbsp;music and culture festival, have also been called off. The CDC has recommended travelers avoid all nonessential travel to Level 3 countries⁠: China, Iran, Italy and South Korea. (Entry by Chinese and Iranian nationals has also been suspended due to the outbreak). And the State Department has advised against all traveling by cruise ships.



Tangent: 15 countries. <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html/" target="_blank">That’s how many</a> are designated “Level 4, Do Not Travel” by the State Department. But only one country⁠—China, where the coronavirus is believed to have originated⁠—was designated Level 4 due to the outbreak.



&#8211; <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/">Lisette Voytko</a>, Forbes Staff, Business

Tag: Viruses

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Facebook Bans Ads Promising A Cure To The Coronavirus

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