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Pinterest image sharing application said that it was so difficult to identify and remove any anti-vax disinformation posted on the service that it was necessary to find an unusual solution to the problem …
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the WSJ reports that, instead of relying on the suppression of misinformation itself, it has blocked research.
Pinterest has stopped sending back the results of research related to vaccination, a radical move according to the social media company that aims to curb the spread of misinformation, but that demonstrates the power of technology companies to censor discussion of critical issues .
Most of the pictures shared on Pinterest related to the vaccination warned her, contradicting established medical recommendations and research showing that vaccines are safe, Pinterest said. The image search platform has tried to remove the content of the anti-vaccine, said a Pinterest spokeswoman, but was not able to remove it completely.
The company had already taken the same steps to block the search for claimed cancer treatments.
In both cases, the company considered that the risk of harm resulting from misrepresentations was sufficient to justify the step.
Most anti-vax publications come from a fraudulent 1998 document that claimed to have found a link between the MMR vaccine – against measles, mumps and rubella – and autism. The document was written by Andrew Wakefield, who was subsequently revealed that he had written in the hope of generating a demand for an alternative vaccination product in which he had a financial interest . Misinformed individuals continue to refer to the study in their anti-vax disinformation despite the fact that Wakefield was removed from the medical register after being found guilty of dishonesty and child abuse.
the WSJ shows the challenges that social media companies face on the tightrope.
The aggressive gesture of Pinterest marks another change in the way big tech companies are trying to take on the responsibility of monitoring the flow of information.
"Until recently, social media companies drew a line in the sand saying that they were not referees of the truth; that they are passive suppliers of 39, information, "said Samuel Woolley, a researcher who studies misinformation in social media within the think-tank Institute for the Future.
"They have been under pressure for a long time to respond to this situation, as the spread of misinformation, especially around vaccines, has extremely damaging consequences, including death," he said.
Google, Facebook and YouTube are some of the other companies that have had to tackle the problem by adjusting their algorithms to reduce health-related misinformation.
Check 9to5Mac on YouTube for more information on Apple:
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