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Researchers want social media platforms to archive COVID-19 misinformation to study public health

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Researchers call on social media platforms to archive coronavirus misinformation so they can study effects on public health

  • A letter calls on social media platforms to archive COVID-19 misinformation
  • The data can be used to track how misinformation affects public health
  • It could also be used to issue regular transparency reports 
  • The letters asks for data on when content is removed and by whom 
  • Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19

Researchers are calling on social media companies and other content sharing services to archive misinformation about coronavirus to study how it affects public health.

The Center’s for Democracy and Technology says 75 organizations have signed an open letter to ask social media and content-sharing platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to preserve information on COVID-19 that is deemed to be misleading even after it’s been taken down.  

Coronavirus misinformation has proliferated on platforms like Facebook and Twitter and has stoked efforts to remove phony reports and hoaxes before they're spread to the public (stock)

Coronavirus misinformation has proliferated on platforms like Facebook and Twitter and has stoked efforts to remove phony reports and hoaxes before they’re spread to the public (stock)

‘The importance of accurate information during this pandemic is clear. But knowledge about the novel coronavirus is rapidly evolving,’ writes the CDT in a statement.

‘This is also an unprecedented opportunity to study how online information flows ultimately affect health outcomes, and to evaluate the macro- and micro-level consequences of relying on automation to moderate content in a complex and evolving information environment.’

To help its efforts, the CDT is calling on social media and content sharing platforms to log which content is taken down and whether it was removed by a human or by one of its automated systems.

In addition to conducting research on misinformation and its intersection with public health, the CDT says it could also be used to produce public transparency reports that shows just how and when content is taken down. 

The call to preserve and track misinformation comes as platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Amazon ramp up efforts to prevent misinformation from spreading to the public by using automated content moderation systems and great human scrutiny.

Facebook removed content showing users how to make their own masks before admitting it made an 'error' (stock)

Facebook removed content showing users how to make their own masks before admitting it made an ‘error’ (stock)

Those efforts have had some mixed results, with Facebook recently admitting that it made an ‘error’ in blocking content on how to make hand-sewn masks and threatening to ban the users who post it, including groups in Pennsylvania, Illinois, and California.  

Twitter has also taken significant stances against misinformation being spread by presidents in Brazil and Venezuela promoting an unproven treatment for COVID-19.  

While the CDT acknowledges that moderation is key to ensuring that misinformation isn’t festering on social networks, it calls the preservation of removed content ‘urgent.’ 

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