Fri 01 April 2022:
According to a study, Facebook failed to identify 80% of postings that promoted misinformation regarding biological weapons theory. A conspiracy theory that has gained traction online and is being addressed even in the United States claims that the United States is supporting the use of bioweapons in Ukraine. The US administration has dismissed the rumors.
However, a study carried out by a nonprofit disinformation research group revealed that Facebook failed to declare 80 per cent of posts with labels like “missing context”, containing “partly false information” or “false information”.
The study carried out by the group Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) sampled Facebook posts made between February 24 and March 14. These posts reportedly led to external articles that contained disinformation about bioweapons.
Imran Ahmed, Chief Executive of CCDH was quoted in media reports as saying that if researchers from the group were able to easily spot the posts, it was within Meta’s capabilities to spot and label them.
The US government has strongly refuted the allegations raised because of the conspiracy theory. The US has said that the conspiracy theory may be part of Russian efforts to spread disinformation so that a potential use of chemical weapons against Ukraine can be justified in the future.
The bioweapons theory began to spread in the early days of the war on Ukraine, among fringe QAnon accounts, ultimately making its way to larger platforms such as Fox News. The White House has condemned the myth, saying it may have been manufactured by Moscow to justify a possible use of chemical weapons against Ukraine.
“Russia’s propaganda campaigns have benefited for years from Meta turning a blind eye to disinformation,” Ahmed said as quoted by The Guardian “Despite taking action against state channels under enormous pressure, Meta is failing badly to contain major disinformation narratives that benefit Putin’s regime.”
While some experts agree that Facebook is now doing more to combat state propaganda, others argue that disinformation will continue to spread on social media as long as the views-driven revenue model is in place.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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