Tech Companies Continue to Fight False Coronavirus Information
2020-04-23
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1False information about the new coronavirus has continued to spread around the world, just like the illness itself.
2In answer, major technology companies have created new tools and rules to reduce misinformation and provide facts about the virus.
3Health officials and others have welcomed the new efforts.
4They have long urged tech companies to do more to prevent the spread of false information online.
5Andy Pattison is head of digital solutions for the World Health Organization (WHO).
6He told The Associated Press that some major tech companies have taken stronger action to reduce coronavirus misinformation.
7For the past two years, Pattison has been urging companies like Facebook to take more aggressive action against false information about vaccinations.
8Now, he says his team spends a lot of time identifying misleading coronavirus information online.
9Sometimes, Pattison contacts officials at Facebook, Google and YouTube to request that they remove such misinformation.
10In some cases, coronavirus misinformation has led to deadly results.
11Last month, Iranian media reported more than 300 people had died and 1,000 were sickened after eating methanol, a poisonous alcohol.
12Information about the substance being a possible cure for coronavirus had recently appeared on social media.
13In the American state of Arizona, a man died and his wife became seriously ill after taking chloroquine phosphate, a product that some people mistake for the anti-malaria drug chloroquine.
14The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, says chloroquine phosphate is used to treat disease in fish kept at home.
15It is not meant to be taken by humans.
16Chloroquine has been used to treat malaria and some other conditions in humans.
17It is being studied as a possible treatment for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
18U.S. President Donald Trump and some of his supporters have said they think chloroquine could be an effective treatment against the virus.
19Similar claims about chloroquine were widely publicized and shared on social media.
20However, health officials have warned that the drug has not been proven to be safe or effective in treating or preventing COVID-19.
21Twitter and Facebook decided to take steps to reduce the spread of information about such unproven treatments.
22Twitter removed a post by Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani that described hydroxychloroquine, which is related to chloroquine, as "100 percent effective" against coronavirus.
23Twitter also removed a tweet from a Fox News broadcaster in which she said the drug had shown "promising results."
24And in what may have been a first, Facebook removed information posted by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who claimed hydroxychloroquine was "working in every place" to treat coronavirus.
25Twitter also removed a linked video.
26Facebook, Twitter, Google and others have increased their use of machine learning tools to identify false information.
27They also have put in place new restrictions on publishing misinformation.
28Dipayan Ghosh is co-director of the Platform Accountability Project at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
29He told The Associated Press that technology companies have learned that the publication of misinformation about the coronavirus can have tragic results.
30"They don't want to be held responsible in any way for perpetuating rumors that could lead directly to death," Ghosh said.
31For example, the Facebook-owned private messaging service WhatsApp has put a limit on the number of people users can forward messages to.
32WhatsApp hopes this helps limit the spread of COVID-19 misinformation.
33Facebook also recently announced that it would start warning users if they have reacted to or shared false or harmful claims about COVID-19.
34The company says it will start sending such warning messages in the coming weeks.
35The users will also be directed to a website where the WHO lists and debunks misinformation about the coronavirus.
36In addition to efforts to reduce false information, technology companies have noted they are widely publishing facts about the virus from trusted news sources and health officials.
37They are also making that information easy for users to find.
38The WHO's Andy Pattison praises those efforts, too; more correct information can help reduce the level of misinformation, he said.
39"People will fill the void out of fear," he added.
40I'm Bryan Lynn.
1False information about the new coronavirus has continued to spread around the world, just like the illness itself. In answer, major technology companies have created new tools and rules to reduce misinformation and provide facts about the virus. 2Health officials and others have welcomed the new efforts. They have long urged tech companies to do more to prevent the spread of false information online. 3Andy Pattison is head of digital solutions for the World Health Organization (WHO). He told The Associated Press that some major tech companies have taken stronger action to reduce coronavirus misinformation. 4For the past two years, Pattison has been urging companies like Facebook to take more aggressive action against false information about vaccinations. Now, he says his team spends a lot of time identifying misleading coronavirus information online. Sometimes, Pattison contacts officials at Facebook, Google and YouTube to request that they remove such misinformation. 5In some cases, coronavirus misinformation has led to deadly results. Last month, Iranian media reported more than 300 people had died and 1,000 were sickened after eating methanol, a poisonous alcohol. Information about the substance being a possible cure for coronavirus had recently appeared on social media. 6In the American state of Arizona, a man died and his wife became seriously ill after taking chloroquine phosphate, a product that some people mistake for the anti-malaria drug chloroquine. 7The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, says chloroquine phosphate is used to treat disease in fish kept at home. It is not meant to be taken by humans. Chloroquine has been used to treat malaria and some other conditions in humans. It is being studied as a possible treatment for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. 8U.S. President Donald Trump and some of his supporters have said they think chloroquine could be an effective treatment against the virus. Similar claims about chloroquine were widely publicized and shared on social media. 9However, health officials have warned that the drug has not been proven to be safe or effective in treating or preventing COVID-19. Twitter and Facebook decided to take steps to reduce the spread of information about such unproven treatments. 10Twitter removed a post by Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani that described hydroxychloroquine, which is related to chloroquine, as "100 percent effective" against coronavirus. Twitter also removed a tweet from a Fox News broadcaster in which she said the drug had shown "promising results." 11And in what may have been a first, Facebook removed information posted by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who claimed hydroxychloroquine was "working in every place" to treat coronavirus. Twitter also removed a linked video. 12Facebook, Twitter, Google and others have increased their use of machine learning tools to identify false information. They also have put in place new restrictions on publishing misinformation. 13Dipayan Ghosh is co-director of the Platform Accountability Project at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He told The Associated Press that technology companies have learned that the publication of misinformation about the coronavirus can have tragic results. 14"They don't want to be held responsible in any way for perpetuating rumors that could lead directly to death," Ghosh said. 15For example, the Facebook-owned private messaging service WhatsApp has put a limit on the number of people users can forward messages to. WhatsApp hopes this helps limit the spread of COVID-19 misinformation. 16Facebook also recently announced that it would start warning users if they have reacted to or shared false or harmful claims about COVID-19. The company says it will start sending such warning messages in the coming weeks. The users will also be directed to a website where the WHO lists and debunks misinformation about the coronavirus. 17In addition to efforts to reduce false information, technology companies have noted they are widely publishing facts about the virus from trusted news sources and health officials. They are also making that information easy for users to find. 18The WHO's Andy Pattison praises those efforts, too; more correct information can help reduce the level of misinformation, he said. 19"People will fill the void out of fear," he added. 20I'm Bryan Lynn. 21The Associated Press reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 22We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 23________________________________________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25perpetuate - v. to make something continue, especially something bad 26rumor - n. information or a story that is passed from person to person but has not been proven true 27debunk - v. to show evidence that something is not true 28void - n. a large hole or empty space