ISLAMABAD – Video sharing website Youtube and social networking giant Facebook have taken down anti-polio content after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf-led government officially sought such move.
The government had asked the portals to remove content circulating on Facebook & Youtube platforms misleading the masses regarding anti-polio vaccinations in the country; the request was honoured.
In a message on Twitter, Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Polio Eradication Babar Atta anounced that the ‘most damaging video’ circulating on Facebook & Youtube was just removed from these platforms after it was found scientifically incorrect.
https://twitter.com/babarbinatta/status/1126727230929850368
Babar added that the same video was used by bureaucrat-turned-analyst Orya Maqbool Jan to base his anti polio theory on a national mainstream channel adding that “Next in line is PEMRA”.
Earlier, the government had reached out to Facebook and YouTube (Google) management in a bid to remove all anti polio vaccine propaganda videos after the misconceptions among the parents emerged as the major obstacle in achieving complete eradication of polio.
A letter forwarded to Babar Atta by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) stated that as many as 174 links on social media involved in disseminating anti-polio content were blocked.
It was estimated that over 100,000 children missed the vaccination during every polio round, after parents’ refusal followed by misconceptions resulted from such baseless propaganda on the polio vaccine.
The major reason behind the misleading propaganda was identified as the fast-growing social media influx in the society along with the unchecked misinformation, which made it hard for the masses to differentiate between the facts and fiction.
Despite the repeated confirmations from the government officials and health experts that the polio vaccinations were harmless, the state failed to overcome the polio menace and stood as witness to attacks on polio workers.
