Facebook to notify users who have engaged with harmful COVID-19 posts

[webfact]

Facebook to notify users who have engaged with harmful COVID-19 posts

 

FILE PHOTO: A Facebook logo is displayed on a smartphone in this illustration taken January 6, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

 

SINGAPORE/BRUSSELS/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc said on Thursday it would start notifying users who had engaged with false posts about COVID-19 which could cause physical harm, such as drinking bleach to cure the virus, and connect them to accurate information.

 

The social media giant, which also owns photo-sharing network Instagram and messaging app WhatsApp, said it has been battling to control large volumes of misinformation such as posts that say physical distancing will not curb the disease.

 

Facebook has taken an uncharacteristically aggressive stance on false coronavirus posts, with Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg saying hoaxes about the virus pose more of a threat to users than political falsehoods, which it generally permits.

 

The pandemic has killed more than 136,000 people globally and infected more than 2 million, while many countries are enforcing strict lockdowns to prevent further spread.

 

Facebook said it has taken down hundreds of thousands of false posts that could be harmful and in March displayed warnings on another 40 million dubious claims related to the virus, without removing them.

 

"We will also soon begin showing messages in News Feed to people who previously engaged with harmful misinformation related to COVID-19 that we've since removed, connecting them with accurate information," Zuckerberg said in a post.

 

The new alert is a concession to critics who have long called for Facebook to "correct the record" by telling users about posts it later removes or labels as false. The company previously resisted those proposals, arguing that drawing attention to dubious claims can inadvertently fuel their spread.

 

The notifications, which will start appearing in the coming weeks, will direct people to a World Health Organization list of common myths about the virus and encourage them to "help friends and family avoid false information," Facebook said.

 

The alerts will not inform users they are receiving the nudge because they had previously liked, reacted or commented on false posts, nor will they debunk specific claims.

 

Advocacy group AVAAZ, which has pushed the "correct the record" proposal, called the move a "first step" but said direct corrections could reduce by 50% the number of people who believe false news stories on social media.

 

Guy Rosen, Facebook's vice president for integrity, said the company is "testing variations in language, some more explicit," for the alerts.

 

The European Commissioner for values and transparency Vera Jourova welcomed the latest measures but said more still needed to be done.

"We will need more transparency and better access to data for researchers to fully verify the scope and impact of false content and to be able to assess Facebook's actions," she said in a statement.

 

(Reporting by John Geddie, Foo Yun Chee and Katie Paul; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Jonathan Oatis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-04-17

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[scorecard]

As time goes by my opinion (just my opinion of course) of facebook (and similar sites) goes down more and more. The owners/operators of such sites seem to be lacking in ethics and morals and even though they have been challenged on many occasions they have done little to change their operating processes and at the same time they become incredibly more wealthy day by day.

 

Many of my old uni students have, in the last couple of years, clearly pulled back on their love of checking facebook (and the others).

 

 

[UbonThani]

surely people know drinking bleach is harmful. if not they are idiots. you cannot stop stupid.

[Chomper Higgot]

“...Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg saying hoaxes about the virus pose more of a threat to users than political falsehoods, which it generally permits.”

 

Somebody wasn’t paying attention in history class.

[cyril sneer]

they've just updated Whatsapp for you can no longer forward anything to multiple recipients, must be done one at a time

 

very time consuming now forwarding those black cock pics

[metisdead]

A troll post has been removed. 

[Bluespunk]

49 minutes ago, cyril sneer said:

they've just updated Whatsapp for you can no longer forward anything to multiple recipients, must be done one at a time

 

very time consuming now forwarding those black cock pics

The forwarding feature changes only applies to posts that have been forwarded a certain number of times.
 

Not sure what the figure is. 

 

Posts forwarded below that figure can still be sent to multiple users. 
 

I’ve been limited on some posts but not others over last few days. A comedy football video was limited to one at a time, a piers Morgan interview not so. 
 

Make of that what you will. 

Edited April 17, 2020 by Bluespunk

[cyril sneer]

26 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

The forwarding feature changes only applies to posts that have been forwarded a certain number of times.
 

Not sure what the figure is. 

 

Posts forwarded below that figure can still be sent to multiple users. 
 

I’ve been limited on some posts but not others over last few days. A comedy football video was limited to one at a time, a piers Morgan interview not so. 
 

Make of that what you will. 

interesting

 

makes me want to use the app even less now

[Christer2019]

So I assume all post from WHO and CCP will be taken down as its miss information and lies?

[Chomper Higgot]

30 minutes ago, Christer2019 said:

So I assume all post from WHO and CCP will be taken down as its miss information and lies?

Aren't you missing somebody out?

[Odysseus123]

4 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Aren't you missing somebody out?

He's probably been zapped by the app!