Anti-vax groups ‘use carrot emojis’ to evade Facebook bans

In brief

Facebook users are using carrot emojis to share unverified claims about Covid-19 vaccinations, the BBC has reported.

The platform has a policy of removing ‘anti-vax’ misinformation but its automated tools tend to focus on words rather than images.

A spokesperson for parent company Meta said a group had been removed but the BBC claimed new anti-vax groups had since sprung up in its place.

Social media platforms were widely criticised last year after failing to block or remove posts containing monkey emojis, which were used as racist gestures towards black footballers.