Facebook will delete YOUR profile picture if you break ‘fake news’ rules in new clampdown

YOUR Facebook profile picture could be removed without your consent if you break certain rules.

The move is part of Facebook’s clampdown on fake news and anti-vaccine statements.

Facebook is cracking down on fake newsCredit: AFP or licensors

A report from the tech giant revealed how it’s battling to remove profile pictures that promote an anti-vaccine message.

Those types of profile pictures, which may feature a person’s face surrounded by an anti-vaccine quote, breach Facebook’s guidelines.

It said in a blogpost: “An important part of our work to increase vaccinations is to address content that violates our rules on COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation.

“Over the course of the pandemic, we have removed more than 16 million pieces of this content from our apps for breaking our rules on COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation.

Facebook supports profile frames that send out a positive vaccine messageCredit: Facebook

“For certain content that does not break these rules, but could still discourage someone from getting vaccinated, we reduce its distribution on Facebook and remove it from recommendations on Facebook and Instagram.”

A CNBC report revealed several anti-vaccine profile picture frames that had been spotted on Facebook.

These included the phrases “I TRUST MY IMMUNE SYSTEM! #NOTASHOT” and “F*** your Covid vaccine.”

Some people are also using frames that don’t explicitly mention the word vaccine or Covid-19, which could make it harder for Facebook to remove them.

CNBC spotted profile pictures that said “I HAVE AN IMMUNE SYSTEM! #MedicalFreedom” alongside “My body My choice.”

There’s also profile pictures that feature crossed out syringe emojis.

Facebook is supportive of profile picture fames that are pro vaccination.

It said: “We know from public health research that people are more likely to get vaccinated if they see others in their community doing so.

“In countries where vaccines are available to most of the population, like the US and the UK, we ramped up our efforts to show people when their friends and neighbours share their support for vaccines through profile frames and stickers.

“More than five million people globally have used these profile frames. And more than 50 percent of people in the US on Facebook have already seen someone use the COVID-19 vaccine profile frames, which we developed in collaboration with the US Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”