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Facebook has denied causing a rise in syphilis and has claimed it has only been linked to the disease because of poor journalism.
Media reports in The Daily Telegraph and The Sun claimed that Facebook had helped fuel the rise of the disease simply because the social networking site is most popular in areas of the north east such as Sunderland, where syphilis is at its most virulent.
The articles also argued that social networks such as Facebook make it easier for people to meet up and have casual sex.
"The assertions made in newspaper reports that Facebook is responsible for the transmission of syphilis are ridiculous," said a Facebook spokeswoman.
"Facebook usage has increased dramatically in the UK. You could probably correlate any increased trend with more people using Facebook. That doesn't mean there is causation."
A source close to Facebook added that the company had spoken to the journalists responsible for the articles.
While refusing to completely rule out the possibility of legal action in the future, she said Facebook would take matters "step by step".
The news follows an incident with The Daily Mail earlier this month, when Facebook threatened to sue the paper over a story claiming that 14 year-old girls are likely to be subject to abuse from paedophiles while using the social networking site.
Facebook has also been linked by various papers to increased divorce rates and a rise in cancer.
26 Mar 2010
