As misinformation flourished online during the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of platforms announced policies and practices aimed at combating the spread of misinformation. But not all those efforts were successful. In fact, the COVID-19 vaccine misinformation policies of Facebook, the world’s largest social media platform, were not effective in combating misinformation, according to a study, “The Efficacy of Facebook’s Vaccine Misinformation Policies and Architecture During The COVID-19 Pandemic,” led by researchers at the George Washington University.
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“There is significant attention given to social media platforms and artificial intelligence governance today. However, this discussion largely focuses on either content or algorithms. To effectively tackle misinformation and other online harms, we need to move beyond content and algorithms to also focus on design and architecture,” said David Broniatowski, lead study author and an associate professor of engineering management and systems engineering at GW’s School of Engineering and Applied Science.
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“This finding—that people were equally likely to engage with vaccine misinformation before and after Facebook’s extensive removal efforts–is incredibly concerning,” said Lorien Abroms, study author and a professor of public health at GW’s Milken Institute School of Public Health. “It shows the difficulty that we face as a society in removing health misinformation from public spaces.”