At a time when the race of vaccines to find a vaccine is in full swing, social media is shielded.
Social media is preparing to deal with the wave of misinformation that is expected to emerge.
Thus, they created Full Fact, a body that controls misinformation and offers reliable data, in collaboration with government authorities and data control bodies.
Specifically, this organization consists of the following:
- Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (United Kingdom)
- Privy Council Office (Canada)
- Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University
- First Draft (United Kingdom, USA, Australia)
- International Fact Checking Network
- Africa Check (South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal)
- Boom (India)
- Chequeado (Argentina)
- Maldita.es (Spain)
So far it has not been clarified whether the organization will influence social media policy or they will continue to move according to the existing planning.
For example, Facebook has announced that it will ban ads that discourage people from getting vaccinated. On the other hand, it has allowed the spread of vaccine conspiracy theories on Facebook and Instagram. Similarly, YouTube said it would ban any misinformation about vaccines COVID-19, but will not remove videos that simply express concern. Finally, Twitter will promote reliable information about vaccines, but will not take action against conspiracy theories.
However, an excessive ban can have the opposite effect. First Draft, a non-profit that investigates social media misinformation, had stressed that fact-checking and control can prove counterproductive.
Source: newsbeast.gr