Facebook is going backwards from its previous rules on disinformation in times of Covid-19, which banned theories suggesting a human hand behind the virus.

"We continue to work with experts to follow the evolution of the nature of the pandemic", explains the American giant. 

Facebook will no longer ban the publication of theories claiming that Covid-19 was created by man, when the hypothesis of a laboratory accident in China is returning to the American debate.

"In light of current investigations into the origins of Covid-19 and in consultation with health experts, we will no longer remove from our platforms claims that Covid-19 was created by humans or was made, "the group, which also owns Instagram, said on its website on Wednesday.

A theory that returns in the American debate

The social network, used by some 3.45 billion people on at least one of its four platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp) goes against its previous rules on disinformation in times of Covid-19, themselves updated last February. They then planned to ban theories suggesting a human hand behind the virus, as well as the alleged ineffectiveness of vaccines or the fact that these anti-Covid sera could be toxic or dangerous.

“We continue to work with experts to monitor the changing nature of the pandemic and regularly update our policies as new facts and trends emerge,” Facebook explains.

Because at the same time, the theory of a laboratory accident in Wuhan, China, has come back in force in recent weeks in the American debate, after being long brushed aside by most experts.

And calls for more in-depth investigation are growing within the scientific community. 

The WHO had deemed the hypothesis "extremely improbable"

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called on his intelligence services to "redouble their efforts" to explain the origin of Covid-19 and demanded a report within 90 days. The leader recalled that the work of American intelligence, which focuses on two hypotheses, animal original or leakage from a laboratory, have so far not made it possible to reach "a definitive conclusion".

After a four-week stay in Wuhan at the start of the year, a joint study by WHO and Chinese experts had for its part judged in March "extremely unlikely" a laboratory accident. The United States and thirteen allied countries later expressed their "concerns" in a joint statement about the report, calling on China to give "full access" to its data.