Instagram To Block Innocent-Looking Anti-Vaxxer Hashtags

Instagram previously blocked hashtags that contained fake news about vaccines like #vaccinescauseautism and #vaccinescauseaids.

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.

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