Facebook Bug Wrongly Deleted Authentic Coronavirus News

FILE - In this Aug. 21, 2018, file photo, a Facebook start page is shown on a smartphone in Surfside, Fla. Facebook says a bug in its anti-spam system is blocking the publication of links to news stories about the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

Facebook said a bug in its anti-spam system temporarily blocked the publication of links to news stories about the coronavirus. Guy Rosen, Facebooks vice president of integrity, said on Twitter Tuesday that the company was working on a fix for the problem.

Users complained that links to news stories about school closings and other information related to the virus outbreak were blocked by the companys automated system.

Later on Tuesday, Rosen tweeted that Facebook had restored all the incorrectly deleted posts, which also covered topics beyond the coronavirus.

Rosen said the problems were unrelated to any changes in Facebooks content-moderator workforce. The company reportedly sent its human moderators home this week because of the coronavirus outbreak.

A representative for Facebook did not immediately respond to questions on the status of Facebooks content moderators, many of whom do not work directly for the company and are not always able to work from home.

(AP)

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