In a virtual staff meeting last July, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg voiced concerns that coronavirus vaccines could change a person’s DNA.
Zuckerberg said in the video chat:
“I do just want to make sure that I share some caution on this because we just don’t know the long-term side effects of basically modifying people’s DNA and RNA to directly code in a person’s DNA and RNA… Basically, the ability to produce those antibodies and whether that causes other mutations or other risks downstream… So there’s work on both paths of vaccine development.”
In November, Zuckerberg asked Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House coronavirus task force member, advisor to the president, about his concerns. Fauci said that the vaccines would never alter DNA. He emphasized that DNA is inherent in a person’s nuclear cell, and anything foreign attempting to stick into it will ultimately get cleared out. The Facebook CEO was satisfied with the response.
On the other hand, a Facebook spokesperson said that the CEO’s July concerns were voiced when coronavirus vaccine development was in its early stages and no one knew much about it. Moderna’s experimental vaccine’s initial stage results had just been released, which utilized the innovative messenger RNA (mRNA) technique. The coronavirus vaccines are the first mRNA vaccines that the Food and Drug Administration has approved.
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Since it is new, experimental technology, there were many concerns about it. While a traditional vaccine injects a weakened germ into the human body to combat the virus and develop immunity, an mRNA vaccine tricks cells in the body to produce antibodies to fight the virus.
People questioned whether the mRNA vaccine might alter a person’s DNA, claiming that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) refuted it last November.
On Feb. 8, Facebook updated its policies on COVID-19 and vaccinations, stating that it would remove content that challenged a mainstream narrative. One such claim includes discussing whether vaccines change people’s DNA. The social media giant explained it is trying to combat misinformation about the CCP virus and vaccines. Other banned statements include claims that COVID-19 is artificial and that vaccines are ineffective or dangerous.
The social media platform stated:
“Groups, Pages, and accounts on Facebook and Instagram that repeatedly share these debunked claims may be removed altogether. We are also requiring some admins for groups with admins or members who have violated our COVID-19 policies to temporarily approve all posts within their group. Claims about COVID-19 or vaccines that do not violate these policies will still be eligible for review by our third-party fact-checkers, and if they are rated false, they will be labeled and demoted.”
Project Veritas is the journalism watchdog that published Zuckerberg’s July video. The media group said that it is hypocritical for Facebook’s CEO to have the freedom to voice his concerns about vaccines altering people’s DNA, but Facebook users cannot.
Project Veritas President James O’Keefe said that Facebook’s updated policy would censor Zuckerberg should he raise such a claim right now. He highlights the fact that Zuckerberg allows his thoughts on the vaccines to change. But once he makes up his mind on an issue, he bans three billion people from asking the same questions.
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