Facebook to Classify Some Stay-At-Home Protests Organized on Site as ‘Harmful Misinformation’

Across the country, people are protesting stay-at-home orders aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

The protests have drawn scrutiny as many have noted that some of the protesters are not following social distancing guidelines or wearing masks in public.

During an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Monday, Facebook CEO 👤Mark Zuckerberg says his platform will categorize those protests organized on the social media site as “harmful misinformation.”

“We do classify that as harmful misinformation, and we take that down,” he said.

He continued, “At the same time, it’s important that people can debate policies, so there’s a line on this, but, you know, more than normal political discourse. I think a lot of the stuff that people are saying that is false around a health emergency like this can be classified as harmful misinformation.”

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Facebook has removed some events on its platform which were planning protests in several states. However, a spokesperson for the outlet said in a statement that it will only take down events if they are prohibited by the states.

“Unless government prohibits the event during this time, we allow it to be organized on Facebook,” the statement read.

The spokesperson continued, “For this same reason, events that defy government’s guidance on social distancing aren’t allowed on Facebook.”

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) warned residents of her state that protests could cause the state’s shutdown to last even longer.

She previously said, “A political rally where people aren’t wearing masks, and they’re in close quarters, and they’re touching one another, you know that that’s precisely what makes this kind of disease drag out and expose more people.”

While some have blasted the protests, President Donald Trump has been accused of “fomenting” them after he sent a series of tweets calling for people to “liberate” their states.

The protests ramped up across the country as Trump unveiled new federal guidelines that provide a three-phase plan for states to reopen their economies as IJR previously reported.