Content ModerationConsumer FacingVerified

Reviewed and published by trentmaziarz, March 23, 2026. Discovered and drafted by our automated research pipeline.

Pinterest uses AI classifiers and URL-level blocking to prevent the spread of health misinformation — including content questioning vaccine safety — and became the first major social media platform to ban climate change misinformation outright in April 2022. Searches for vaccination-related topics are restricted to results from authoritative health sources like the WHO, CDC, and the American Academy of Pediatrics only. These policies have been in place in various forms since 2017.

Details

The enforcement system combines machine learning classifiers with a curated blocklist of URLs and domains known to host health or climate misinformation. For vaccine-related searches, Pinterest suppresses all non-authoritative results algorithmically, rather than simply removing individual Pins. The climate misinformation ban, introduced in April 2022, prohibits ads and organic content that deny the scientific consensus on climate change. Pinterest partners with external expert organizations to identify emerging misinformation trends. There has been documented internal tension: a 2020 STAT News investigation found that the company's misinformation policies were developed by a small group of employees who faced resistance from colleagues and leadership.

Products affected

Pinterest searchPinterest home feedPinterest AdsPinterest recommendations

Sources & Evidence

News Article

Pinterest bans all climate change misinformation on its platform

TechCrunch·Apr 2022

https://techcrunch.com/2022/04/06/pinterest-bans-all-climate-change-misinformation-on-its-platform/

News Article

Externally polished, internally marginalized: Inside the fight over Pinterest’s health misinformation policy

STAT News·Oct 2020

https://www.statnews.com/2020/10/28/pinterest-vaccine-health-misinformation-health-policy/

News Article

The tech giant fighting anti-vaxxers isn’t Twitter or Facebook. It’s Pinterest

Fast Company·Feb 2019

https://www.fastcompany.com/90310970/the-tech-giant-fighting-anti-vaxxers-isnt-twitter-or-facebook-its-pinterest

Cite this record

Trace Foundation. (2026). Pinterest: Pinterest uses AI classifiers and URL-level blocking to prevent the spread of health misinformation — including content questioning vaccine safety — and became the first major social media platform to ban climate change misinformation outright in April 2022. Searches for vaccination-related topics are restricted to results from authoritative health sources like the WHO, CDC, and the American Academy of Pediatrics only. These policies have been in place in various forms since 2017 (data as of 2026-03-23) [Data set record]. AI Trace. https://www.aitrace.org/r/practice/c4f849f7-edca-4439-9782-f9d84b69e367. Accessed October 13, 2026.

Stable link: https://www.aitrace.org/r/practice/c4f849f7-edca-4439-9782-f9d84b69e367
Data as of: March 23, 2026
Last verified: March 23, 2026

How to cite AI Trace

Other practices by Pinterest

OtherPinterest maintains an internal program called Responsible AI that covers three areas: building inclusive AI features (the skin tone, body type, and hair pattern tools described in Practice 21), testing its AI systems for unfair bias (using internal tools that measure whether models perform equally well across different groups of users), and developing guidelines for the safe use of generative AI. The program includes red teaming — structured attempts to find flaws or harmful outputs in AI systems before they launch.OtherPinterest is testing AI-powered upgrades to its Boards feature that go beyond simple user-organized collections. In October 2025, Pinterest launched an experiment in the U.S. and Canada where the platform automatically generates outfit ideas from a user's saved fashion Pins ("Styled for you"), creates entirely AI-curated boards based on trending styles ("Boards made for you"), and suggests related products based on what a user has already saved ("Make It Yours").OtherPinterest uses AI to identify diverse skin tones, body types, and hair patterns across billions of images on its platform, then uses those signals to ensure that search results and recommendations reflect a broader range of human appearances. Users can filter fashion search results by body type ranges, skin tone ranges, and hair patterns. The body type technology launched in September 2023, with public user filters rolling out in March 2024; skin tone ranges have been available since 2018.

Have evidence about Pinterest's AI practices? Submit a report.

Report a Sighting →