YouTube lays out plans to remove 2020 misinformation

The world’s top social media platforms are facing their own challenges, as they try to push users toward fact-driven and reputable sources about the deadly coronavirus.

But wild conspiracy theories and misleading advice about the coronavirus are continuing to spread largely unabated on platforms like Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and other networks with billions of users overall.

U.S. lawmakers, many of whom are working to publicize trustworthy information about the little-understood health epidemic, say they want the platforms to do more to stave off the wave of misinformation.

House Democrats take note: “These lies can cause immediate and tangible harm to people, and the platforms must act to stop them from spreading,” House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) said in a statement to The Hill.

“It’s critical that Americans receive verified, trustworthy information about the coronavirus and heed the advice of our country’s public health officials as we learn more about its potential impact here at home,” Pallone said.

Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), a member of the Energy and Commerce subcommittee focused on health, sent a letter Friday to the heads of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok pressing them to do more to curb coronavirus disinformation.

“During a global health emergency, it is vital to the public interest that individuals have access to timely and accurate information,” she wrote.

“As expert’s knowledge and understanding about this virus grows, so too will the necessity of accurate and reliable information for the world,” Dingell added. “As global companies, a rampant spread of inaccurate information will have a decidedly negative impact on the response efforts to contain and mitigate this global health emergency.”

The debunked narratives: So far, experts who spoke to The Hill said they are monitoring several specific strains of misinformation, including conspiracy theories that the U.S. or Chinese government created the virus, false rumors linking billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates to the disease, and a debunked narrative that the coronavirus was caused by Chinese people drinking “bat soup.” Many of the falsehoods and narratives that gained traction this week have racist undertones, implying the eating habits of Chinese people are to blame for the outbreak.

Dr. Arthur Caplan, the founding head of the division of medical ethics at New York University’s School of Medicine, told The Hill that much of the rhetoric he has come across online has a “xenophobic” tone.

What the platforms are doing: The social media giants — Twitter, Facebook and Google — have chosen to fight the spread of coronavirus-related misinformation in part by promoting authoritative sources. When a user searches “coronavirus” on Twitter, for instance, they are met with a banner that reads “know the facts,” with a link to the CDC’s summary page on the illness.

“We’ve launched a new dedicated search prompt to ensure that when you come to the service for information about the #coronavirus, you’re met with credible, authoritative information first,” Twitter wrote in a blog post on Wednesday.

Facebook, meanwhile, announced Thursday that it will surface “educational pop-up[s] with credible information” when users search for information related to the virus based on guidance from the WHO.