Tech

Twitter stops enforcing COVID-19 misinformation policy, experts express concern over false claims


Twitter will no longer enforce its policy on COVID-19 misinformation, prompting public health experts and social media researchers to fear the change could have consequences. serious if it discourages vaccination and other efforts to combat the virus that is still spreading.

Sharp-eyed users spotted the change on Monday night, noting that a one-sentence update was made to by Twitter online rule: “Effective November 23, 2022, Twitter no longer enforces its COVID-19 misinformation policy.”

By Tuesday, several Twitter accounts were testing new boundaries and celebrating the platform’s hands-on approach, which came after Twitter was bought by Twitter. Elon Musk.

Dr Simone Gold, a doctor and leading disinformation about COVID-19, tweeted: “This policy is used to silence people around the world who question our story. media around the virus and treatment options. “A victory for freedom of speech and freedom of health!”

However, Twitter’s decision to no longer remove false claims about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine has disappointed public health officials, who say it could lead to many false claims. more biased about the virus or the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine.

“Bad news,” epidemiologist Eric Feigl-Ding tweeted, urging people not to run away from Twitter but to continue the fight against bad news about the virus. “Stay, people – DO NOT give them the town square!”

Paul Russo, a social media researcher and dean of the Katz School of Health and Science at Yeshiva, said that although Twitter’s efforts to prevent false claims about COVID are far from perfect, , but the company’s decision to reverse course is a waiver of its obligations to its users. University in New York.

Russo added that this is the latest in a number of recent moves by Twitter that could end up scaring some users and even advertisers. Several big names in the business sector have paused their ads on Twitter in the face of questions about its direction under Musk.

“The platform is 100% responsible for protecting its users from harmful content,” said Russo. “This is completely unacceptable.”

Meanwhile, the virus continues to spread. Nationally, new COVID cases averaged nearly 38,800 a day as of Monday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University – much lower than last winter but a huge shortage due to reduced testing. and report. About 28,100 people with COVID are hospitalized daily and about 313 die, according to the most recent federal daily averages.

Cases and deaths rose from two weeks earlier. However, one-fifth of the US population has not been vaccinated, most Americans have not received the latest vaccines, and many have stopped wearing masks.

Musk, who has personally spread COVID disinformation on Twitter, has expressed interest in repealing many of the platform’s previous rules aimed at combating misinformation.

Last week, Musk said he would “pardon” account holders who were kicked out of Twitter. He’s also reinstated accounts for several people who spread COVID misinformation, including the account of Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, whose personal account was suspended this year for links continues to violate Twitter’s COVID rules.

Greene’s most recent tweets include lines questioning the effectiveness of masks and making baseless claims about the safety of COVID vaccines.

Since the pandemic began, platforms like Twitter and Facebook have struggled to deal with a flood of misinformation about the virus, its origins, and how it responds.

Under a policy enacted in January 2020, Twitter prohibits false statements about COVID-19 that the platform determines could lead to real-world harm. According to Twitter’s latest figures, more than 11,000 accounts have been suspended for violating the rules and nearly 100,000 content has been removed from the platform.

Despite rules banning COVID misinformation, Twitter has struggled with enforcement. Posts making bogus claims about home remedies or vaccines can still be found, and it is difficult to pinpoint exactly how the platform’s rules changed on Tuesday. .

Messages left with San Francisco-based Twitter seeking more information about its policy on COVID-19 misinformation were not immediately returned Tuesday.

Searching for common terms related to COVID-19 misinformation on Tuesday yielded a lot of misleading content, but also automated links to helpful virus resources and information. authoritative sources such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ashish Jha, the White House’s COVID-19 coordinator, said on Tuesday that the COVID-19 misinformation problem is much bigger than a platform and policies banning COVID misinformation. not the best solution.

Speaking at a Knight Foundation forum on Tuesday, Jha said misinformation about the virus spreads for a number of reasons, including legitimate uncertainty about a deadly disease. “Just banning certain types of content is not going to help people find good information or make them feel more confident about what they hear from their healthcare providers,” he said.

“I think we all have a shared responsibility,” Jha said of fighting COVID misinformation. “The consequences of not getting this right – of spreading that misinformation – are literally tens of thousands of people who died needlessly.”


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