KUALA LUMPUR, May 14 — Instagram will block hashtags that produce misinformation about vaccinations, including those that seem innocuous but are actually used to spread false claims.
Engadget reported that the photo-sharing site will now block hashtags that do not necessarily contain debunked information about vaccines, but are used by anti-vaxxers to spread fake news.
Instagram will, for example, block a hashtag like #vaccines1234 if anti-vaxxers use that to share debunked claims about vaccines.
The social media site previously blocked hashtags that contained fake news about vaccines like #vaccinescauseautism and #vaccinescauseaids.
A banned hashtag means that a user will not find anything by clicking on it. The hashtag will also not appear when users search for it.
