pinterest

Max Fleishman/Daily Dot

Pinterest is reportedly blocking vaccination searches

The effort has been going on since late last year.

 

Andrew Wyrich

Tech

Posted on Feb 20, 2019   Updated on May 20, 2021, 6:40 pm CDT

Social media website Pinterest is no longer showing search results for terms surrounding vaccinations, according to a new report.

Other social media sites, like Facebook, have said they would consider removing anti-vaccination recommendations in groups.

The Wall Street Journal reports Pinterest’s decision was made to try and reduce misinformation. The company told the news outlet it tried to remove anti-vaccination content but was not able to remove it all.

The move to stop showing vaccination results went into effect last year, the Journal reports. The ban will be temporary, according to the company, until it creates a better strategy to find “polluted” content.

“It’s better not to serve those results than to lead people down what is like a recommendation rabbit hole,” the company’s public policy and social impact manager told the newspaper.

Last week Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) sent a letter to Facebook raising alarms that the site was “recommending messages that discourage parents from vaccinating their children.”

The company told Bloomberg that it was “exploring additional measures” and “reducing or removing” suggestions to join groups regarding anti-vaccination content.

You can read all of the Wall Street Journal‘s report here.

READ MORE: 

Share this article
*First Published: Feb 20, 2019, 2:53 pm CST