Internet giants fight spread of coronavirus disinformation

Internet companies are stepping up their fight against the spread of disinformation about the coronavirus, after new cases and fatalities outside China have seen a major spike.
Google, Facebook, and other platforms took part in a meeting with the World Health Organization earlier in February at Facebook’s offices to discuss tactics such as fact-checking and promoting reliable information.
“We must combat the spread of rumours and disinformation. To that end, we have worked with Google to make sure people searching for information about coronavirus see WHO information at the top of their search results”, said the organisation’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Ghebreyesus added that social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Tencent, and TikTok have taken steps to limit the spread of misinformation about the virus. In particular, Google search ranks fact-checked sources higher when people are seeking information.
Facebook said it is focusing on false claims which could be harmful or life-threatening for people, including rumours that, for example, say treatments like drinking snake oil, or even bleach, can cure the virus.
“These actors can take advantage of that things with crazier scenarios are more likely to be clicked on than the report from that doctor at WHO trying to calm down the fears,” a Facebook official said.
“We currently do not allow content promoting dangerous remedies or cures, like videos which claim that harmful substances or treatments can have health benefits,” YouTube said.
Recently, thousands of Russian-linked social media accounts have spread false reports and wild conspiracy theories that the US is behind the outbreak and that is using the virus to wage “economic war on China” and that the virus is a biological weapon manufactured by the CIA.