Facebook responds to K'taka govt's request, removes misleading post by doctor on COVID-19

Bengaluru: Responding to a request by Karnataka health department, social networking site Facebook took down a social media post by a doctor offering misleading medical advice for COVID-19 patients.

The post was removed on Thursday, as it violated Facebook’s “misinformation and harm policy.”

Sanjeev Kumar, a Hyderabad-based cardiologist, through his post offered a blanket prescription to critically ill patients with low oxygen saturation who were unable to find a bed. He had also mentioned names of 11 drugs along with the dosage and frequency it has to be taken in.

The video was posted on June 8 and was shared by several Facebook users.

A fact-checking team, set by state government to report fake posts, wild rumours, conspiracy theories, doctored videos” had been monitoring the cardiologist’s online activity. Reacting to the post, the state Health department wrote to Facebook on Tuesday seeking removal of the post for violating existing guidelines of medical prescriptions.

The Union information and broadcasting ministry had issued a directive to all states in the country to have a dedicated Covid-19 fact-check unit for constantly examining and countering fake news on Covid-19, particularly on social media. Every state sends a report to the Centre every morning on the nature of viral posts claiming Covid-19 cure or management and steps taken to address them.