FILE- In this March 27, 2019, file photo, measles, mumps and rubella vaccines sit in a cooler at the Rockland County Health Department in Pomona, N.Y. In social media’s battle against misinformation, bogus claims about the dangers of vaccines are the next target. With measles outbreaks wreaking havoc around the world, Facebook, Pinterest and others are trying to put the genie back in the bottle, even as they are hesitant, even unwilling to acknowledge outright responsibility for spreading falsehoods. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
SAN FRANCISCO: Like health officials facing outbreaks of disease, Internet companies are trying to contain vaccine-related misinformation they have long helped spread. So far, their efforts at quarantine are falling short.
Searches of Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram turn up all sorts of bogus warnings about vaccines, including the soundly debunked notions that they cause autism or that mercury preservatives and other substances in them can poison and even kill people.
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