The new normal? Disinformation and content control on social networks on the occasion of covid-19

This document shows the changes made by Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to their content moderation policies to contain information about the coronavirus. It describes the state of the rules prior to the pandemic and outlines the adjustments that were made to the rules on organic and advertised content. It also addresses the public interest exception under which platforms keep online, in some cases, posts that violate their community standards.

The observation was done as of 31 December 2020 and was based on CELE's monitoring of community standards and Linterna Verde through the Letra Chica project. Letra Chica tracks, explains and puts into context changes to community standards on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.