Facebook has removed 12M+ fake COVID-19-related info using AI
Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Facebook has used its artificial intelligence (AI) systems to remove COVID-19-related information that has been flagged as misinformation by global health experts, wrote Guy Rosen, the vice president of integrity at Facebook, in an opinion piece.
Rosen wrote the social networking platform also detected copies of those materials when someone tried to share them.
“As a result, we’ve removed more than 12 million pieces of content about COVID-19 and vaccines,” wrote Rosen in the opinion piece originally published by Morning Consult and republished in Facebook Newsroom.
On Thursday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology and Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce will hold a joint hearing on how social media is tackling misinformation online. Witnesses will include Facebook chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ-6) wrote in a memorandum to the subcommittees: “Facebook, Google, and Twitter operate some of the largest and most influential online social media platforms reaching billions of users across the globe. As a result, they are among the largest platforms for the dissemination of misinformation and extremist content. These platforms maximize their reach—and advertising dollars – by using algorithms or other technologies to promote content and make content recommendations that increase user engagement. Users of these platforms often engage more with questionable or provocative content, thus the algorithms often elevate or amplify disinformation and extremist content. Facebook, Google, and Twitter also have access to vast swaths of user data that allows them to microtarget content to users who would be more susceptible to disinformation and extremist content.”
Regarding social media and COVID-19-related misinformation online, the memorandum says, “Facebook, Google, and Twitter have long come under fire for their role in the dissemination and amplification of misinformation and extremist content. For instance, since the beginning of the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, all three platforms have spread substantial amounts of misinformation about COVID-19. At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, disinformation regarding the severity of the virus and the effectiveness of alleged cures for COVID-19 was widespread. More recently, COVID-19 disinformation has misrepresented the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.”
The hearing entitled “Disinformation Nation: Social Media’s Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation” will be livestreamed on YouTube. The YouTube livestream can be watched below as well:
