'Stop it': PNG raps Facebook for Covid-19 misinformation, says hurting vaccine push

Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape (R) preparing to receive a dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in Port Moresby, as Papua New Guinea's health minister on April 1 called disinformation spread on Facebook the ‘biggest challenge’ to efforts to curb the rampant spread of Covid-19 in the poor pacific nation.

* PNG health minister calls conspiracies biggest vaccine challenge * PNG battling a spike in new cases * Even health workers are reluctant to be vaccinated Misinformation shared on Facebook is the biggest threat to Papua New Guinea's Covid-19 vaccine plans and the social media giant must take steps to ‘stop it’, the Pacific country's health minister said on Thursday. Conspiracy theories about vaccines are so entrenched that even frontline health workers are hesitant to take the shot, Jelta Wong said at a talk with an Australian think tank that was streamed online. ‘Facebook is our biggest conspiracy theorist platform,’ Wong said at the Lowy Institute talk, adding people should not rely on unverified claims on Facebook to guide their approach to vaccines.