Skip to main content

Facebook reminds users to get flu shots, limits reach of anti-vax posts

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Facebook can already manage your online shopping, your job search, your news, and even your dating life — and now the social media platform wants to send you reminders when it’s time to get a flu shot or head in for a check-up. On Monday, October 28, Facebook launched Preventive Health, a tool that encourages users to get preventative tests and helps the uninsured find federally funded health centers. The tool launches as Facebook stunts the spread of anti-vax posts on the network.

Using profile data for age and gender, the Preventative Health tool suggests tests such as blood pressure checks, cholesterol tests, pap smears, and mammograms. From the tool, users can check an option saying that they’ve already had that test done and can set a reminder for when the next test is due, based on testing timelines from organizations like the American Heart Association and American Cancer Society.

Recommended Videos

At launch, the Preventative Health tool focuses on heart disease and cancer, the two leading causes of death in the U.S., according to the Center for Disease Control. But, the tool will also send reminders to get a flu shot ahead of flu season. The information in the tool is a result of Facebook working with organizations like the American Cancer Society, the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and the CDC.

Along with the options to set reminders and share the tool itself with friends, Preventative Health allows users to find locations for tests and shots nearby. The “find location” option searches for nearby health centers that are federally qualified, which offer services regardless of the ability to pay.

With the update, Facebook is essentially reminding users that it’s time to get a flu shot shortly after announcing that anti-vaccine posts will have limited reach on the network. Facebook isn’t removing such posts entirely, but posts that discourage vaccines will not show up in recommendations and ads, while appearing lower on the search results. The change comes after growing criticism for social media’s role in allowing the spread of vaccine misinformation amid a growing measles outbreak.

Facebook hasn’t had the best track record for user privacy lately — but the company promises that the information used in the new tool isn’t shared with friends. The company says the data can only be accessed by a select few Facebook employees responsible for running the tool. The information itself won’t be used to target ads, Facebook says, but clicking on a link, liking a page, and adding gender and age to your profile — if you haven’t already — can influence ads on the network. The share tool only suggests friends try the tool themselves, but doesn’t share if you actually got that test. Participation is optional.

Many users, however, likely won’t even know the Preventive Health tool exists. Facebook says users have to search for the tool in the search bar to turn on those health reminders. In the past, Facebook has axed features housed in separate sections accessible from the menu because not enough people actually navigated away from the news feed to use them. Facebook says that it plans to work with more health organizations to offer more resources for users.

Hillary K. Grigonis
Hillary never planned on becoming a photographer—and then she was handed a camera at her first writing job and she's been…
Facebook’s automated hate speech detection is getting even better
fbi wants social media data facebook app mem2

Facebook’s proactive hate speech detection technology has gotten much better, according to a new report. 

The social network published the sixth edition of its Community Standards Enforcement Report on Tuesday, August 11. The big takeaway is that the company is getting better at detecting hate speech instances. The report looked at data from the second quarter of this year. 

Read more
Facebook removes Trump post over coronavirus misinformation
Trump stylized image

Facebook has removed a post from President Donald Trump’s Facebook page after concluding that it contained false claims about the effect of COVID-19 on children.

The post, which appeared on the account on Wednesday, August 5, included part of a Fox News phone interview with the president in which he said that children are “almost immune” to the virus.

Read more
Facebook is training an army of malicious bots to research anti-spam methods
facebook hacked

Despite Facebook’s many efforts, bad actors somehow always manage to seep through its safeguards and policies. The social network is now experimenting with a new way to buttress its anti-spam walls and preempt bad behaviors that could potentially breach its safeguards: An army of bots.

Facebook says it’s developing a new system of bots that can simulate bad behaviors and stress-test its platform to unearth any flaws and loopholes. These automated bots are trained and taught how to act like a real person utilizing the treasure trove of behavior models Facebook has acquired from its over two billion users.

Read more