Although Facebook refused to delete the advertisement in an earlier stage, the social media platform began deleting some of them at the end of last year, according to the Washington Post. The advertisements were said to violate the platform’s rules. The newspaper says they have insight in a document where Facebook’s fact-checkers conclude the advertisements to be misleading.

Sarah Kate Ellis, the leader of LGBT+ organisation GLAAD, says Facebook is making a step forward. She added the “time is now for Facebook to take action on other very similar ads which target at-risk community members with misleading and inaccurate claims about PrEP and HIV prevention.”

GLAAD tried to ban the advertisements as early as September last year. According to the Washington Post, the disputed advertisements were bought by pages related to lawyers who represent individuals that claim to have been harmed by PrEP medication. When Facebook eventually removed the advertisements from its platform, most of the campaigns had already ended.

The advertisements mention side effects that can occur when using PrEP. According to health information organisations, the drugs may influence the bone density of one in a hundred people and one in two hundred may deal with kidney problems. Though, the disputed advertisements are considered inaccurate and misleading, which made Facebook delete them.