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May 27, 2021
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1/2 A Facebook logo is displayed on a smartphone in this illustration taken January 6, 2020.
REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

NEW YORK, May 27 (Reuters) - Facebook Inc (FB.O) is no longer removing

posts that claim the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 was man-made amid
renewed debate over its origins.

"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," said a Facebook spokeswoman in an
emailed statement.

"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 rule change, first reported by Politico, comes as U.S. President Joe Biden
announced he has ordered aides to find answers to the origin of the virus. He
said on Wednesday that U.S. intelligence agencies are pursuing rival theories
potentially including the possibility of a laboratory accident in China. read
more

Social media companies have faced pressure to combat health misinformation

on their sites during the pandemic. Facebook has said it has removed more
than 16 million pieces of content from its apps for breaking rules on COVID-19
and vaccine misinformation.

The company announced in February that it had expanded the types of claims it
would remove from its platforms, including that the virus was man-made.

The Facebook spokeswoman said the company regularly updates the list of
claims it removes based on the advice of health experts.

COVID-19 has killed more than 3.6 million people worldwide. The first reported
cases emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019 but the origin
of the virus remains contested among experts.

Earlier this week, U.S. government sources said a still-classified U.S.

intelligence report circulated during former President Donald Trump's
administration alleged that three researchers at China's Wuhan Institute of
Virology became so ill in November 2019 that they sought hospital care. The
source of that early intelligence or how reliable U.S. agencies rate it is not
known.

Reporting by Elizabeth Culliford Editing by Bill Berkrot

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