Misinformation about health spread through networks on Facebook has been viewed 3.8 billion times in the past year, a new study reported Wednesday.
According to the non-profit advocacy group Avaaz, the culmination of the misinformation came in April when the coronavirus pandemic destroyed American cities.
The networks involved received about 400 million views in about one month and their reach led to the loss of that of leading accounts for health organizations over the social media giant.
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In addition, Avaaz said just 16% of the misinformation about health it had discovered was attached to an advisory label, claiming that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg posed the algorithm as a major threat to public health for more than $ 2.7 billion. users by not deleting false statements.
To draw these conclusions, Avaaz found reported third-party websites that had previously reached large audiences with health-related misinformation, found the top Facebook pages that drove content to those pages, and devised a metric for video views relative to interactions with the footage.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks via video conference during a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee on Anti-Trust Matters on Wednesday, July 29, 2020 in Washington. (Graeme Jennings / Pool via AP)
The findings showed that as COVID-19 soared the nation, so did conspiracy theories and false characterizations.
Earlier this year, 100 frontline doctors and nurses sent a letter to America’s largest social media platform warning that misinformation was hurting their ability to treat patients.
A study in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene earlier this month concluded that 800 people worldwide died in the first three months of 2020 as a result of misinformation.
The claims may require fresh scrutiny from Facebook and other tech leaders, especially from Congress.
In late July, Zuckerberg was called to testify in a virtual hearing on bias, market power, data usage and other topics.
He clashed with lawmakers, rep said. David Cicilline, DR.I., that Facebook has a “good track record” when it comes to misinformation from police, including on topics related to the global health crisis.
Since the spring, Facebook has implemented several initiatives to reduce misinformation about health, including the creation of a ‘coronavirus center’, the removal of political ads that misrepresent COVID-19 and the expansion of fact-checking efforts.
The Washington Post reported that between April and June, Facebook added warning labels to 98 million pieces of content and took 7 million fraudulent messages related to coronavirus.
In a recent press release, Facebook provided a detailed overview of steps it takes to ensure users have “access to accurate information.”
Just a few days ago, however, the Department of Justice said it seized four Facebook accounts carried out by ISIS, Al Qaeda and Hamas-linked terrorists seeking funds for their organizations with ads for COVID-19 personal protective equipment.
Avaaz says Facebook’s efforts so far are insufficient and do not match the scale of the problem at hand.
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Instead, the company says it should provide all users who have read incorrect information with independently verified factual corrections, and reduce the visibility of traffic information in an individual’s news feed.
Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News.
