Facebook giving high profile users too much leeway – researcher

In New Zealand, the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine has passed the Medsafe approval process. Information on safety, efficacy and side effects can be found here.

In Tamaki’s article, he discussed the people who symbolically applied the blood of Christ to the front doors to avoid the previous “terrorized airborne” epidemic, which he did not name, and begged followers of the Church of Destiny to put together their beliefs in Psalm 91 as a “simple” way not to get the virus. for.

“There is an option that gives you and your family a chance in the face of these fears and epidemics, and it has already been proven,” he said, there is no reliable scientific evidence for his claims.

The post was online for 10 hours and has been shared over 180 times with no removal or disclaimer.

It was removed when RNZ asked Facebook, but reposted via a link to Tamaki’s own web page, which was reposted more than 80 times.

Science denial expert Dr. Fiona Crichton said that 10 hours is long enough for false information to spread all over the world, especially given that “Facebook is a place people go for this kind of information.

“People hear this, spread it to others, and if you come back later and say ‘it’s actually a big miss,’ people are very reluctant to hear it.

“If they got this information on board because, one, we don’t like to be wrong, two, if you start believing something, it’s much harder to deny that information. Faith is very difficult to counter with facts alone.”

“So there is an obligation on Facebook to act fast and really do it.”

Dr. Fiona Crichton says it’s critical for Facebook to act quickly when false information is posted on topics like vaccines.
Photo: AFP

MX Dentith, a conspiracy theory researcher based in Auckland, said Facebook has competing interests when it comes to high-profile public figures who post misinformation.

They said that featured pages allow people to spend time on Facebook, and as a result, the website generates advertising revenue.

“So if you’re a prominent figure on a social media platform, the kind of rules you have to follow don’t seem to really apply to you unless you do something too bad. It will take you off the platform.”

This is discussed by Facebook, who says its AI also helps prioritize posts for content moderators to review.

He said that if the more viral – which accumulates posts and opinions quickly – the more serious or the more likely it is to violate community standards, the faster the posts are followed.

But Dentith said massive misinformation on Facebook made it difficult to manage.

They worried that artificial intelligence could stop people with the right information and right intention.

“It is commendable that Facebook decided to cut down on such claims. But there is still an ongoing concern here, that if they do this by algorithm, they will also restrict legitimate stories. They question these stories to explain why they are wrong.”

Dentith said that for every misinformation, some reaction is needed to help instill it and help people understand why it is wrong.

Crichton said that “confronting the facts” was not always effective and urged people to sit down with family members or friends who spread false information before giving them “private” reliable information.

“Try to figure out what’s really worried. Because usually – I’m worried about whether it’s safe for me or my kids, or my grandmother has MS. Anything that happens when people get false information in their lives.”

The post that Tamaki reposted is available as of Sunday morning.

Facebook urged people to continue reporting anything that violates community standards, and said the vast majority of reports are reviewed within 24 hours.

** In New Zealand, the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine has passed the Medsafe approval process. Information on safety, efficacy and side effects can be found here.