Researchers say anti-science rhetoric and rampant conspiracy theories after a recent surge of fresh Covid-19 cases have become just as threatening to our safety as the virus itself.
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Experts say an “infodemic” contributes to vaccine wariness
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A Zimbabwean court has denied bail to prominent journalist Hopewell Chin’ono, who has been in detention for almost a week on accusations of publishing a falsehood.
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Twitter labeled 300,000 tweets for election-related misinformation from Oct. 27 to Nov. 11, the company’s CEO Jack Dorsey told the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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A total of 120,000 posts on Facebook and Instagram have been withdrawn for attempting to “obstruct voting” in the U.S. presidential election and 2.2 million ads have been rejected, Facebook’s vice president Nick Clegg said in an interview published Sunday.
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Up to a third of people in certain countries may believe coronavirus misinformation and in turn be less open to immunization, scientists said Wednesday, warning that development of a vaccine “might not be enough.”
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Facebook is allowing climate misinformation ads to proliferate despite claiming it is committed to rooting out the problem, a new report by a think tank said Thursday.
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The U.S. government has seized nearly 100 domain names used by a branch of Iran’s armed forces that officials said Wednesday were being used to conduct a disinformation campaign featuring fake news sites targeting the United States and other countries.
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With just two months left until the U.S. presidential election, Facebook says it is taking more steps to encourage voting, minimize misinformation and reduce the likelihood of post-election “civil unrest.”
Read moreVoter advocacy groups challenged President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to limit immunity for social media platforms that combat misinformation by users, arguing fake news about voting and the election harm their ability to engage voters.
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As the world seeks a vaccine and treatment for Covid-19, there is no antidote in sight for the burgeoning outbreak of coronavirus conspiracy theories, hoaxes, anti-mask myths and bogus cures.
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Twitter on Tuesday temporary limited Donald Trump Jr.’s access to his account after the president’s oldest son shared a video with misinformation about hydroxychloroquine, an unproven drug being pushed by some as a treatment for Covid-19.
Read moreOne major obstacle is preventing social media companies from effectively combating the proliferation of disinformation and hate speech online, two data ethics experts suggested during a virtual forum Wednesday.
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One-quarter of American adults believe the coronavirus pandemic was probably created intentionally as a way for powerful people to make money, the Pew Research Center reported Monday.
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In a reversal, Facebook says it will label all “newsworthy” content that violates its policies, including statements from President Donald Trump.
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The Austria-based International Press Institute has tracked 16 countries that have passed new laws targeting misinformation about the coronavirus. THE
Read moreTwo journalists claim a Puerto Rican law, which makes it a crime to create a false alarm during a state of emergency, is so vague that it could be used to prosecute reporters for breaking news stories about the coronavirus outbreak.
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A coronavirus vaccine is still months or years away, but groups that peddle misinformation about immunizations are already taking aim, potentially eroding confidence in what could be humanity’s best chance to defeat the virus.
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Hundreds, sometimes thousands, of posts fly in the new Facebook groups daily. The coronavirus numbers are fake, some of the social media videos claim.
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U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday that the world is facing “a dangerous epidemic of misinformation” about Covid-19 and announced a U.N. campaign to flood the internet with facts and science to counter what he called “a poison” that is putting lives at risk.
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