On Facebook, health misinformation 'super spreaders' rack up billions of views: Report

SAN FRANCISCO: Misleading health content has racked up an estimated 3.8 billion views on Facebook over the past year, peaking during the COVID-19 pandemic, advocacy group Avaaz said in a new report on Wednesday .

"Facebook's algorithm is a major threat to public health. Mark Zuckerberg promised to provide reliable information during the pandemic, but his algorithm is sabotaging those efforts by driving many of Facebook's 2.7 billion users to health misinformation-spreading networks," said Fadi Quran, Campaign Director at Avaaz.

"Thanks to our global network of fact-checkers, from April to June, we applied warning labels to 98 million pieces of COVID-19 misinformation and removed 7 million pieces of content that could lead to imminent harm."We've directed over 2 billion people to resources from health authorities and when someone tries to share a link about COVID-19, we show them a pop-up to connect them with credible health information," she said.

Health Health Latest News, Health Health Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

China reports 22 new COVID-19 casesChina reported on Tuesday 22 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for Aug 17, same as the tally a day earlier, the health authority said.
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »

Philippines reports 4,836 new COVID-19 cases, seven deathsThe Philippines' health ministry on Tuesday confirmed 4,836 novel coronavirus infections, the seventh straight day of reporting more than 3,000 ...
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »

France reports over 2,000 new COVID-19 infectionsThe French health ministry reported 2,238 confirmed new coronavirus infections on Tuesday (Aug 18), less than recent daily highs but still at ...
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »

China reports 17 new COVID-19 cases, no community infections for 3rd straight dayChina reported on Wednesday 17 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for August 18, down from 22 the day before, the health authority said.
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »