Meta’s latest platform, Threads, is facing backlash for limiting search results related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including vaccines, as the country experiences another surge in coronavirus cases.
The company has confirmed this policy, stating that the social media site currently blocks users from searching for keywords that could lead to “sensitive” posts.
“The search functionality temporarily does not provide results for keywords that may show potentially sensitive content,” Meta said in a statement shared with multiple news outlets. “People will be able to search for keywords such as ‘COVID’ in future updates once we are confident in the quality of the results.”
Threads, which was launched earlier this summer, has been introducing several highly requested updates in recent weeks, including the launch of a desktop version and search functionality.
However, this search functionality is not proving helpful for users looking for COVID-19 related posts. Instead, users are greeted with a blank page and are prompted to visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website for more information when searching for pandemic-related words such as “COVID,” “coronavirus,” and “vaccines.”
The Washington Post was the first to report this news.
This comes as the U.S. continues to see an increase in COVID-19 cases, which is expected to persist throughout the winter months. However, Anthony Fauci, one of the country’s top infectious disease experts, stated on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday that due to the level of COVID-19 immunity in the population, the likelihood of a significant surge in cases and hospitalizations is low.
Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration recently approved updated COVID-19 boosters, which will be available in the coming days.
The decision to block these search terms demonstrates Meta’s intention to avoid highlighting any topics that could be considered “hard news” on Threads.
“Politics and hard news are bound to appear on Threads – they have to some extent on Instagram as well – but we won’t do anything to encourage those areas,” wrote Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram and also involved in the launch of Threads, earlier this year.
Threads was released in early July as an alternative to Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, and achieved 100 million sign-ups within five days of its launch.
However, the platform has since struggled to maintain its initial momentum.
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