Facebook’s failure to halt the spread of coronavirus misinformation makes it a “major threat” to public health, a damning new report has warned. From a news report: Research by activist group Avaaz found health misinformation relating to the pandemic was viewed 3.8bn times on the social media site in the last year. Just 16 per cent of all misinformation analysed in the study carried a warning label, with the remaining 84 per cent remaining online without a warning. Facebook has vowed to crack down on conspiracy theories and misleading content linked to Covid-19 amid concerns inaccurate information was spreading unchecked on the platform. A company spokesperson said the findings of the report did not “reflect the steps we’ve taken to keep it from spreading on our service.” Facebook said it had applied warning labels to 98m pieces of content and removed a further 7m between April and June. The site added that it had also directed more than 2bn people to resources from official health authorities.

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Source: Slashdot – Facebook is a ‘Major Threat’ To Public Health, Report Warns