Pinterest is taking new steps to crack down on vaccine misinformation in partnership with the Academy.
When Pinterest users search for information about vaccines or vaccine-preventable diseases, they’ll only get search results from public health organizations like the AAP, World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Vaccine Safety Net. These search results also will be free of recommendations, comments and ads.
“As we continue to tackle health misinformation, we remove it and the accounts that spread it from our service,” Pinterest Public Policy and Social Impact Manager Ifeoma Ozoma said in a statement. “But we also want to bring expert content onto Pinterest. We know we aren’t medical experts, which is why we’re working with professionals to inspire Pinners with reliable information about health.”
Pinterest already had taken steps in recent years to prevent misinformation about vaccines. Its latest efforts stem from a letter AAP President Kyle E. Yasuda, M.D., FAAP, sent in March to the CEOs of Pinterest, Google and Facebook asking that they partner with the Academy. He told them “misinformation can be deadly” and urged “more communication, not less.”
“The Internet and social media offer tremendous value as tools to help parents make informed decisions about their children’s health,” he wrote. “But we must ensure that the decisions are indeed informed, with credible, scientific information from trusted sources.”
