PARANAQUE, PHILIPPINES - FEBRUARY 26: A Filipino Catholic wearing a protective mask prays during Ash ... [+]
Consider this an open letter to the social media companies. Facebook and Twitter, I hope you are listening because this is a serious problem — and it’s getting worse.
In recent weeks, I’ve seen more and more posts on social media related to the coronavirus, many of them exaggerated claims about infections in the United States.
It’s not good at all. Amid posts about “bat soup” and how the virus spreads through eye infections — which means a face mask won’t work — there is also misinformation about infections in the United States, government cover-ups, and rampant conspiracy theories.
And then there is the rumor about eating garlic as a way to reduce your chances of infection. The World Health Organization at least is starting to debunk those claims.
The fact that recent reports from reputable, verified sources are also a bit hysterical is not helping. The CDC recently announced that infections are “inevitable” in the U.S., which has likely prompted the more outlandish posts above. News agencies have started throwing out the word “pandemic” more and more, which is also a major trigger word for everyday folks. (In truth, the technical definition of a pandemic is when infections could occur outside of the source country and infections are no longer localized; it does not mean everyone is in imminent danger.)
And yet, social media is not exactly a bastion of restraint. Everyone seems to have an opinion about everything, and backing up claims is entirely optional these days. Trigger words like “inevitable” and “pandemic” seem to unleash a torrent of disreputable claims. Social media posters jump to “inevitable” conclusions.
The question is whether companies like Facebook and Twitter will react. (I contacted both companies and did not receive an immediate response.)
Facebook has stated on the record that they are working to remove outlandish posts. In one official post, the company says it is actively investigating false claims. In a blog post, Twitter reps claimed they have not seen a rise in misinformation about coronavirus but will stay vigilant. It seems a bit underwhelming that Twitter has started a hashtag campaign called #KnowTheFacts to combat misinformation and won’t auto-suggest links to non-credible news sources. If that’s their way of reducing the spread of false claims, it won’t be enough.
My view is that Facebook and Twitter need to ramp up their efforts significantly, mostly by using machine learning to look for false claims and block them as quickly as possible. People are gullible. Users will normally ignore wildly exaggerated claims, but if they feel unsafe and unsure about the state of infections, they are more primed and ready to believe outright lies. This is essentially what happened during the last presidential election cycle — social media users had preconceived notions. False claims just fed into that hysteria.
A good first step beyond the AI bots? I’d like to see both platforms become way more proactive. Start posting official notices more often and make sure they are widely viewed by all users. Encourage social media users to verify all claims, and avoid only using the tactics of blocking and removing posts. Machine-learning in its current form is not capable of determining subtle shades of meaning and intent. It’s helpful to augment what human workers are doing with AI, but it is not the total answer.
And, do this on the platform itself — no more blog posts. Follow the lead of Wikipedia when it asks for money. Make it a blatant effort to thwart misinformation.
Here’s hoping they take this one seriously. And soon.
Update: Readers pointed out that both Facebook and Twitter do show you a notice about the virus and links to the CDC for more info when you do a search. However, I’m talking about even more proactive notices for all users. For example, I’d like to see more notices when users view or post about conspiracy theories.
