Coronavirus disinformation: Vice President Jourová asks online platforms to make additional efforts against vaccine disinformation

On 22 February, Vice-President Jourová met the representatives of Facebook, Google, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube about the urgency of addressing coronavirus vaccines disinformation. Online platforms that signed the Code of Practice on Disinformation have committed to dedicated reporting for the initial 6 months reporting period which was recently extended for another 6 months. Values and Transparency Vice President Věra Jourová said: “Despite the efforts, the numbers and examples of disinformation continue to shock. Vaccine diplomacy is accompanied by propaganda waves by foreign actors. The online platforms play a huge role in our public debate and need to take substantial steps to prevent harmful and dangerous disinformation, both domestic and foreign, from undermining our common fight against the virus, especially when it comes to vaccination. We are living in a global health emergency and information can save lives. We can only succeed by joining forces. We agreed that cooperation needs to be strengthened between public authorities and online platforms in order to identify disinformation in a better way and promote health announcements from the authorities. I insisted on the importance of supporting media and civil society which play a crucial role in providing fact-checked information. I will also discuss the matter further with member states on 23 February at the General Affairs Council where the fight against disinformation is on the agenda”.

Following the 10 June 2020 Joint Communication on tackling COVID-19 disinformation, the monthly reporting programme was created to ensure accountability towards the public of the efforts made by platforms and relevant industry associations. The next batch of reports will be published later this week. You will also find additional resources on the EUvsDisinfo website.

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